Amnesty International says Egypt and Nigeria accounted for well over 1,000 of the death sentences announced last year, more than a third of the world's total.

The human rights group's latest annual report says 2,466 people in 55 countries were sentenced to death in 2014.

It also says at least 607 people were executed in 22 countries last year.

The group says China likely executed more people than all other countries put together, but such numbers are a state secret.

The countries with the most recorded executions last year were Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United States.

While executions were down from 2013, Amnesty International was alarmed by the 28 percent jump in death sentences last year.

An estimated 19,000 people were living under death sentences in 2014.

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