Amnesty International on Monday recorded at least 2,707 executions globally in 2025, the highest figure since 1981, with Iran alone accounting for 2,159 of those deaths — more than double the country’s 2024 total.
The UK-based human rights organisation released the figures in a report published Monday, describing the Iran figure as staggering and accusing Tehran of deploying capital punishment as an instrument of political repression. Amnesty linked the sharp rise to the June 2025 conflict between Iran and Israel, which it said preceded a crackdown on dissent and civil liberties inside the country. Executions tied to anti-government protests and membership of banned organisations climbed sharply in the months that followed.
“Amnesty International continues to consider China as the world’s leading executioner,” the report stated, noting that Beijing’s execution figures remain classified and cannot be independently verified or included in the global total.
Beyond Iran and China, the report documented significant increases across multiple countries. Saudi Arabia carried out at least 356 executions in 2025, surpassing its own previous record of 345 set in 2024. Egypt nearly doubled its total from 13 to 23, Kuwait rose from six to 17 and Yemen climbed from at least 38 to at least 51.
In the United States, 47 executions took place during the year, the country’s highest annual figure since 2009. Amnesty attributed a substantial portion of that increase to Florida, where executions rose at an unprecedented rate. Singapore recorded 17 executions, its highest annual total since 2003.
Amnesty warned that the global trend reflected widening authoritarianism and the erosion of civic space in multiple jurisdictions, arguing that governments were increasingly using the death penalty to silence opposition rather than address crime.
