The number of people sentenced to death worldwide in 2025 was the highest in a long time. Furthermore, there have not been this many executions in 44 years. This is according to a report on the death penalty in 2025 by the human rights organization Amnesty International (AI).
At least 2,707 people in 17 countries lost their lives in executions in 2025. The Amnesty report cites a dramatic 78 percent increase compared to 2024. China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia are primarily responsible for this. The authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran alone executed at least 2,159 people in 2025. That was twice as many victims as in 2024. Saudi Arabia executed at least 356 people. According to AI’s figures, there were also significant increases in the U.S.—from 35 to 47.
China keeps execution figures secret
The AI report only accounts for documented executions. Executions in China are not included. There, such data is considered a state secret. Amnesty estimates that with thousands of people executed annually, China carries out the most executions worldwide. Afghanistan and Iraq also carried out death sentences.
Iran Silences and Spreads Fear
People have been killed in various ways: beheaded, hanged, executed by lethal injection, shot, or suffocated with nitrogen gas. “The death penalty is the most extreme form of state violence,” said Julia Duchrow, Secretary General of Amnesty International Germany. In Iran, she explained, “we are currently witnessing in the most distressing way how states systematically use the death penalty to silence people, oppress marginalized groups, and spread fear.”
Forty-six percent of all documented cases were based on drug offenses. This, according to the Secretary General, is “deeply inhumane.” Under international human rights standards, the death penalty may only be imposed for “the most serious crimes.”
An increasing number of countries have abolished the death penalty
In the Middle East in particular, the number of executions rose significantly in 2025. In Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas—with the exception of the United States—no one was executed. According to Amnesty International, three out of 54 African countries carried out executions in 2025.
In 1977, the human rights organization AI began its campaign against the death penalty. At that time, only 16 countries had abolished it. Today, there are 113—more than half of all countries in the world. This was “made possible through perseverance and determined commitment,” the report states. “The recognition is gaining ground worldwide that the death penalty is ‘cruel, discriminatory, and ineffective,’ said Duchrow, ‘and therefore has no place in our time.’”
Further information:
https://www.amnesty.de/pressemitteilung/todesstrafe-bericht-2025-hinrichtungen-weltweit
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