Amnesty International: published report Death Sentences and Executions 2025

Amnesty International’s Death Sentences and Executions 2025 monitoring report recorded 2,707 executions across 17 countries in 2025, the highest figure documented since 1981. This total result regarding the global use of the death penalty excludes China, which remained the world’s lead executioner.
Among the findings, Saudi Arabia raised its executions to 356, making extensive use of the death penalty for drug-related offences. Kuwait almost tripled its executions, while Egypt, Singapore, and the United States of America nearly doubled theirs. On top of the ten countries that have consistently carried out executions over the last five years in disregard of international human rights law's safeguards and standards, four countries resumed executions in 2025: Japan, South Sudan, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International's Secretary General, expressed her concerns: "This alarming spike in the use of the death penalty is due to a small, isolated group of states willing to carry out executions at all costs, despite the continued global trend towards abolition. From China, Iran, North Korea and Saudi Arabia to Yemen, Kuwait, Singapore and the USA, this shameless minority are weaponizing the death penalty to instill fear, crush dissent and show the strength state institutions have over disadvantaged people and marginalized communities."

The growing use of the death penalty is linked to an expansion of its scope, particularly for drug-related offences (China, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Algeria, and the Maldives), as well as for offences such as "high treason," "terrorism," and "acts of espionage" (Burkina Faso, Israel).

However, executing countries remain an isolated minority. The USA is the only country in the Americas to carry out executions, with close to half taking place in Florida. In Sub-Saharan Africa, executions were confined to Somalia and South Sudan. Afghanistan was the only country in South Asia to pursue executions; Singapore and Viet Nam were the only ones in Southeast Asia; and Tonga was the only Pacific country to retain the death penalty in law.

Since Amnesty International began working to advance the abolition of the death penalty in 1977, the number of countries that have abolished it in law, in practice, or ceased to carry it out has risen from 16 to 113. The report also shows that some countries took steps toward abolition, demonstrating that global abolition is possible with continued pressure and determination.