BEIJING (AP) — Human rights activists say China's use of the death penalty remains shrouded in secrecy and still outpaces the rest of the world combined, even after the nation's execution rate fell sharply in recent years.

Amnesty International reported 1,032 state-sponsored executions worldwide in 2016, excluding China, where the true number remains unknown because the government considers it a state secret. The group said it believes the number for China was in the thousands, but didn't offer an estimate due to a lack of accurate information.

The human rights group Dui Hua estimates there were about 2,000 executions in China last year, down from a 6,500 a decade ago, said the group's executive director, John Kamm.

Amnesty said its figure for worldwide executions excluding China represents a 37 percent drop from 2015.