Amnesty International has revealed that governments executed at least 2,707 people across 17 countries in 2025 in a death penalty report. This marks the highest number of executions recorded globally since 1981.
Amnesty International report reveals sharp rise in global executions
In its latest report titled Death Sentences and Executions 2025, the organisation said China remained the world’s leading executioner. Although authorities continued to conceal official figures.
Amnesty International said it believed China executed thousands of people during the year.
The death penalty report showed that Iran recorded the highest confirmed number of executions, carrying out at least 2,159 deaths in 2025. Saudi Arabia followed with at least 356 executions, many linked to drug-related offences.
Amnesty International also recorded sharp increases in other countries. Kuwait increased executions from six to 17, while Egypt, Singapore and the United States almost doubled their figures.
The organisation’s Secretary-General, Agnès Callamard, accused a small group of countries of using the death penalty to intimidate citizens and suppress dissent.
“This alarming spike in the use of the death penalty is due to a small, isolated group of states willing to carry out executions at all costs,” she said.
Callamard said countries had continued to weaponize the death penalty to instil fear and crush dissent. They also show the strength state institutions have over disadvantaged people and marginalized communities.
The report linked the rise in executions to renewed crackdowns under the “war on drugs.” Amnesty International said authorities carried out about 1,257 executions for drug-related offences, representing nearly half of all known executions globally.
Iran accounted for 998 drug-related executions, while Saudi Arabia carried out 240. Amnesty International also recorded such executions in China, Kuwait, and Singapore.
Countries move to expand death penalty laws despite global decline in executions
The report further showed that several countries moved to expand the use of capital punishment. Algeria, Kuwait, and the Maldives introduced measures seeking to apply the death penalty to drug-related crimes.
In Burkina Faso, the government adopted a draft bill proposing the return of the death penalty for offences such as terrorism, espionage, and high treason. Authorities in Chad also established a commission to review issues surrounding the possible reinstatement of capital punishment.
Despite the increase in executions, Amnesty International said only a small number of countries still carried out executions regularly.
“China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, the United States, Vietnam, and Yemen have consistently executed prisoners over the last five years, “ the report revealed.
Japan, South Sudan, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates resumed executions in 2025, bringing the number of executing countries to 17.
The organisation, however, noted progress in some regions. It said no country in Europe and Central Asia recorded executions or death sentences during the year.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, only Somalia and South Sudan carried out executions. The United States remained the only country in the Americas to execute prisoners for the 17th consecutive year.
Amnesty International said nearly half of all executions in the United States took place in Florida.
The report added that Afghanistan remained the only South Asian country to carry out executions. Singapore and Vietnam were the only countries known to have done so in Southeast Asia.
Recently, Amnesty International has accused the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) of cowardice and blatant double standards. This is for its refusal to suspend Israel from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.