A recent report has revealed a significant surge in the application of the death penalty worldwide, with the number of executions reaching levels not observed since 1981. The human rights organization, Amnesty International, attributed much of this increase to Iran, where the rate of executions has reportedly doubled in a single year.
In total, at least 2,707 executions were carried out globally in 2025, although Amnesty International noted that the actual figure could be much higher. The organization indicated that thousands more executions are believed to have occurred in China; however, the country’s opaque approach to its death penalty practices has made it impossible to verify these claims.
When excluding China from the statistics, the documented executions still represented a staggering 78% rise compared to the previous year’s global figures reported by Amnesty International. Iran accounted for a substantial portion, with at least 2,159 executions, more than twice the number recorded in the preceding year.
The report also highlighted that the remaining executions were conducted across 16 other nations, including Saudi Arabia, which executed at least 356 individuals; Yemen, with a minimum of 51; the United States, with 47; Egypt, with 23; and Somalia, Kuwait, and Singapore, each with 17. Additionally, Afghanistan had six executions, while the United Arab Emirates reported three. Japan, South Sudan, and Taiwan each carried out one execution.
Amnesty International confirmed the occurrence of executions or death sentences in Iraq, North Korea, and Vietnam, but stated that it lacked sufficient information to provide credible minimum figures. Like China, Vietnam treats its death penalty data as a state secret, and restrictive reporting practices in Belarus, Laos, and North Korea resulted in minimal information about executions for 2025.
While Iran’s execution numbers were notably higher than those of other countries with documented figures, several nations saw substantial increases in their execution rates compared to previous years. In Saudi Arabia, the number of executions surpassed the record high set in 2024, as the country has increasingly imposed death sentences for drug-related crimes, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a U.S.-based organization that tracks capital punishment data.
Furthermore, the report indicated that executions in Kuwait nearly tripled from 2024 to 2025, while Egypt, Singapore, and the United States experienced almost double the number of executions, marking the busiest year for capital punishment in the U.S. since 2009. Experts cited various factors for this rise in the U.S., including political pressures.
Additionally, Japan, South Sudan, Taiwan, and the UAE resumed executions last year, contributing to the overall increase in global execution rates.
The report underscored that despite the alarming rise in executions, the majority of countries remain opposed to the death penalty, with the nations most responsible for these actions being a small, isolated group. The same ten countries—China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Vietnam, Yemen, and the United States—have consistently practiced capital punishment over the past five years, demonstrating a disregard for international human rights norms and protections.
Agnès Callamard, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, expressed concern over this trend, stating, “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, despite the continued global trend towards abolition. Countries like China, Iran, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia are using the death penalty as a tool to instill fear and suppress dissent, showcasing their dominance over marginalized communities.”
Polling data reveals that attitudes toward the death penalty differ significantly by region, with surveys in the U.S., the U.K., and parts of Europe showing a decline in support over recent decades. As of 2026, more than 70% of countries worldwide have either abolished capital punishment or ceased its practice, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
