Deutsche WelleHuman Rights Global issues Executions worldwide hit 40-year high, Amnesty says Louis Oelofse May 18, 2026
The human rights group Amnesty International confirmed that at least 2,707 people were put to death in 2025 but said the actual number was much higher. Despite these figures, there are indications of possible progress.
The number of executions worldwide reached its highest level in more than four decades in 2025, driven largely by a sharp increase in Iran, Amnesty International said.
At least 2,707 people are known to have been put to death, according to the rights group’s annual review. That marks a 78% jump from 2024 and is the highest figure Amnesty has recorded since 1981, when 3,191 executions were logged.
The figures exclude China, which Amnesty believes executed thousands of people, making it the world’s top executioner. The country refuses to disclose data.
The group attributed the surge to governments using capital punishment to project authority, saying they had placed “this cruel punishment at the center of flawed public security and ‘tough on crime’ narratives to assert control, project state power and score political points.”
Key facts from Amnesty’s ‘Death sentences and execution report 2025’
Amnesty does not rely on a single data source. Instead, it collects information from official figures, court judgments, individuals sentenced to death, their families and representatives, media reports and other civil society organizations.
- 2,707 executions recorded in 2025, excluding China
- 2,159 executions in Iran alone
- 54 countries still have the death penalty
- 2,334 new death sentences were recorded in 2025
- 25,508 people were under sentence of death at the end of 2025
- Execution recorded in: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, United States, Egypt, Somalia, Kuwait, Singapore, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Japan, South Sudan, Taiwan, Iraq, North Korea, Vietnam
- Beheading, hanging, lethal injection, shooting and nitrogen gas asphyxiation were used as methods of execution in 2025
Data on executions is not published in many countries, leaving Amnesty to point out that its figures are the minimum recorded.
“The true overall figures are likely to be higher,” the group said.
Amnesty was able to confirm that executions were carried out in North Korea and Vietnam, but there was insufficient information to determine credible minimum figures.
China, Iran and Saudi Arabia dominate global executions
Iran accounted for the overwhelming majority of executions, with at least 2,159 carried out. That represented about 80% of the global total.
The figure more than doubled compared with the previous year and marked the country’s highest level of executions in decades.
“The Iranian authorities continued to weaponize the death penalty, often after grossly unfair trials, to instill fear among the population and punish those who challenged, or are perceived to have challenged, the Islamic Republic of Iran establishment,” Amnesty said.
Saudi Arabia also recorded a notable rise, carrying out at least 356 executions, many linked to drug-related offenses.
The global figures exclude the thousands of executions Amnesty believes were carried out in China.
Death penalty in the United States
According to Amnesty’s report, the United States recorded its highest execution figure since 2009, with 47 people put to death.
Florida alone accounted for nearly half of those executions, Amnesty said.
The number of people on death row in the United States fell below 2,000 for the first time since Amnesty began collecting the data, driven by commutations and natural deaths.
Signs of progress toward abolition
Despite the grim figures, Amnesty noted signs of progress toward the abolition of capital punishment.
By the end of 2025, 113 countries had fully abolished the death penalty for all crimes, up from just 16 in 1977.
Reforms during the year included the abolition of capital punishment for several offenses in Vietnam and legislative moves in countries such as Gambia, Liberia and Nigeria to further restrict or eliminate its use.
Courts and governments in some countries also acted to block efforts to expand capital punishment. In Kyrgyzstan, the Constitutional Court ruled that reintroducing the death penalty would violate the constitution, while Zimbabwe commuted all existing death sentences.
“Only justice systems that are humane and rights-based can truly deliver justice…I hope that soon we will see universal recognition — reflected in law — that the way to protect societies is not through executions, but through strong institutions and accountability,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
