Support For The Death Penalty In Europe

Map found on redditThe map above gives support for the death penalty by European country based on surveys and polls done between 2018 and 2021. Belarus remains the only country in Europe with the death penalty still in use.

Russia is an interesting case: “Beginning in 1996, Russia halted all executions, rendering the death penalty a dormant provision within the Russian Criminal Code.”

Here is the support by country:

Estonia – 70%
Hungary – 65%
Romania – 65%
Serbia – 65%
Ukraine – 65%
Kosovo – 62%
Albania – 60%
Belarus – 60%
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 60%
North Macedonia – 60%
Russia – 60%
Lithuania – 59%
Bulgaria – 58%
Slovakia – 57%
Poland – 56%
Latvia – 55%
Moldova – 55%
Montenegro – 55%
Greece – 52%
France – 47%
Croatia – 45%
Czech Republic – 45%
United Kingdom – 45%
Italy – 42%
Cyprus – 40%
Slovenia – 40%
Germany – 39%
Ireland – 35%
Malta – 35%
Spain – 35%
Switzerland – 35%
Austria – 30%
Belgium – 30%
Portugal – 30%
Finland – 28%
Luxembourg – 25%
Netherlands – 25%
Denmark – 25%
Sweden – 22%
Norway – 20%
Iceland – 15%

To put those numbers in perspective, US support for the death penalty is just 53%.

Below you can see a map and a simplified table of when countries in Europe abolished the death penalty, the last time it was used and finally the methods used when it was still in effect.

Map created by JakubMarian

Note the table below has a few differences from the map above:

Country	Methods Used	Year of last use (peacetime)	Abolished (peacetime)
Albania	Firing squad, hanging	1992	2000
Andorra	Garrotte, firing squad	1943	1990
Armenia	Single shot	1991	2003
Austria	Hanging	1950	1950
Belarus	Single shot	2022	–
Belgium	Guillotine, firing squad	1950	1996
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Firing squad	1977	2000
Bulgaria	Firing squad	1989	1998
Croatia	Firing squad	1987	1990
Cyprus	Hanging	1962	2002
Czech Republic	Hanging	1989	1990
Denmark	Decapitation, firing squad	1892	1930
Estonia	Single shot	1991	1998
Finland	Firing squad, hanging	1825	1949
France	Guillotine, firing squad	1977	1981
Germany	Guillotine, hanging, firing squad	1951	1981
Georgia	Shooting	1995	1997
Greece	Firing squad	1972	1975
Hungary	Hanging	1988	1990
Iceland	Public beheading	1830	1928
Ireland	Hanging	1954	1990
Italy	Firing squad	1947	1948
Kosovo	Firing squad	1987	1999
Latvia	Shooting	1996	1999
Liechtenstein	Public beheading	1785	1989
Lithuania	Shooting	1995	1996
Luxembourg	Hanging, firing squad	1948	1979
Malta	Hanging	1943	1971
Moldova	NA	None since independence	1995
Monaco	Guillotine	1929	1964
Montenegro	Firing squad	1981	2002
Netherlands	Hanging, firing squad	1860	1870
North Macedonia	Firing squad	1988	1991
Norway	Beheading, firing squad	1876	1902
Poland	Hanging	1988	1997
Portugal	Hanging, garrotte, firing squad	1846	1867
Romania	Firing squad	1989	1990
Russia	Single shot	1996	–
San Marino	Hanging	1667	1848
Serbia	Firing squad	1992	2002
Slovakia	Hanging	1989	1990
Slovenia	Hanging	1959	1989
Spain	Garrotte, firing squad	1975	1978
Sweden	Guillotine, hanging	1910	1921
Switzerland	Beheading, firing squad	1940	1942
Turkey	Hanging	1984	2002
Ukraine	Single shot	1997	2000
United Kingdom	Hanging	1964	1969
Vatican City	Mazzatello, hanging, beheading, guillotine	1870	1969

Map created by JakubMarian

Why have almost all European countries abolished the death penalty?

European countries have largely abolished the death penalty despite high public support in some areas for several nuanced reasons:

Human Rights and Ethics:

European values strongly emphasize human rights, dignity, and ethical governance.
The death penalty is seen as incompatible with the right to life and protection against cruel or degrading punishment, values enshrined in documents like the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

European Integration and the EU:

Membership in the European Union and the Council of Europe explicitly requires the abolition of the death penalty.
Countries aspiring to join or remain in these institutions must comply, leading to a widespread regional norm against capital punishment.

Legal Obligations and International Treaties:

The ratification of Protocols No. 6 and 13 of the ECHR obliges signatories to abolish the death penalty entirely, both in peacetime and wartime.
International law reinforces a strong legal framework against capital punishment across the continent.

Judicial Mistakes and Irreversibility:

Recognizing that wrongful convictions occur, European legal systems emphasize rehabilitative justice and human fallibility. The risk of executing an innocent person is viewed as morally unacceptable and irreversible.

Influence of Political and Social Elites:

Decision-making elites (judges, lawyers, policymakers, academics) across Europe largely oppose the death penalty, even if public opinion remains mixed.
These groups have significant influence over policy and shape norms, often pushing for abolition despite popular sentiment.

Historical Context and Experiences:

Europe’s violent history—particularly with authoritarian regimes executing political opponents—created strong cultural resistance to state-sanctioned executions.

Effectiveness and Criminal Deterrence:

Studies and statistics often fail to convincingly demonstrate that the death penalty effectively deters crime more than long-term imprisonment.
European policy prioritizes prevention, rehabilitation, and social reintegration rather than retribution.

Global Diplomacy and Soft Power:

European nations advocate globally for human rights; abolition of capital punishment aligns with this diplomatic image, enhancing Europe’s moral authority internationally.

Therefore, despite lingering support in public opinion, these combined legal, ethical, historical, and political factors have solidified the abolition of the death penalty as a core European principle, unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

And finally another map grouping countries by year: