Number of death-penalty executions worldwide increases 78% in 2025, compared to 2024: report

The number of recorded death-penalty executions last year was 2,707, a 78% increase compared to the previous year, according to Amnesty International, a global human rights watchdog. 

The number in 2024 was 1,518, and the total 2025 number was likely higher considering thousands of more executions in China are believed to have occurred during that time, the group also reported in a 45-page report released Monday.

The number of countries that now execute people in death-penalty sentences is 17, which the group says is in line with the historical low trends recorded since 2018.

The increase in executions, according to Amnesty International, was driven primarily by those in Iran. The Middle Eastern country had the highest number in decades, with 2,159 – double the number in 2024, according to the group. 

Many, if not most, of those executions are in connection to the massive street demonstration in opposition to the authoritarian regime that runs Iran. 

"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," the report stated. 

Saudi Arabia had the third-highest number behind China and Iran, at over 356. The Middle East country was followed by Yemen with over 51 and the United States with 47.