Overview
- The Amnesty report, published Monday, logged at least 2,707 executions in 2025, the most recorded since 1981 across 17 countries.
- Iran carried out at least 2,159 executions — more than double 2024 — as authorities used capital punishment to tighten control after the June 2025 war with Israel.
- Nearly half of all known executions, 1,257 in total, were for drug offences that international human rights standards say should not be punishable by death.
- Saudi Arabia recorded at least 356 executions and the United States 47 — its highest since 2009 with 19 in Florida — while four states resumed executions: Japan, Taiwan, South Sudan and the UAE.
- Amnesty’s global count excludes China’s classified figures, which the group says likely number in the thousands, so the true total is higher than the recorded minimum.