Overview
- Amnesty International’s latest report counts at least 2,707 executions in 2025, the most since 1981 and a 78% jump from 2024, carried out in 17 countries.
- Iran accounted for about 2,159 executions, which Amnesty links to an intensified use of the death penalty to suppress dissent after conflict and protest unrest.
- Saudi Arabia recorded a record 356 executions, mostly for drug offenses, and most of those put to death were foreign nationals.
- China’s execution data remains a state secret, and Amnesty says the country likely carries out thousands of executions not reflected in the global total.
- The report details violations of international standards, including public executions, death sentences for crimes committed by minors, coerced confessions, and trials without basic due process.