Global Executions Surge in 2025 as United States, Iran and Saudi Arabia Lead Worldwide Rise
New data show a sharp increase in the use of the death penalty driven by policy shifts in the US and record execution totals in Iran and Saudi Arabia
The number of people executed worldwide has climbed sharply in 2025, driven by notable increases in the United States, Iran and Saudi Arabia, according to the latest figures from rights groups and monitoring organisations.
In the United States, executions have reached their highest level in more than fifteen years, with at least forty-seven men put to death as state and federal authorities resumed capital punishment at a sustained pace.
The spike in executions follows policy actions that have reinvigorated the use of the death penalty and changes in judicial practice that reduced reprieves in the final months of 2025.
In the Middle East, Iran has continued a long-term trend of high execution rates, with known figures indicating well over one thousand executions in 2024 and further increases in 2025. The use of capital punishment in Iran spans a wide range of offences, including serious crimes and drug-related charges, and is occurring amid an environment of domestic unrest and stringent judicial processes.
Saudi Arabia has also seen a record number of executions in 2025, surpassing its previous annual totals and breaking its own historical high for the second year running.
A majority of those executed in the kingdom this year were convicted of non-lethal drug-related offences, and the total includes foreign nationals and individuals from diverse backgrounds.
These developments reflect a broader surge in recorded executions worldwide, with Amnesty International’s annual report on the death penalty showing that known executions reached their highest level since 2015. Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia alone accounted for more than ninety per cent of the executions recorded in 2024, with figures pointing to continued prominence for these countries in global death penalty statistics.
While many nations have abolished capital punishment or seen significant declines in its use, the concentrated increase in a small number of states underscores how policy decisions at the national level can shape global trends.
Human rights advocates point to the rising use of the death penalty for a range of offences, including drug crimes, as incompatible with evolving international norms on limiting capital punishment to the most serious crimes.
The United States, Iran and Saudi Arabia’s prominent roles in this rise highlight divergent legal philosophies and the enduring controversy around the death penalty’s application in the twenty-first century.
In the United States, executions have reached their highest level in more than fifteen years, with at least forty-seven men put to death as state and federal authorities resumed capital punishment at a sustained pace.
The spike in executions follows policy actions that have reinvigorated the use of the death penalty and changes in judicial practice that reduced reprieves in the final months of 2025.
In the Middle East, Iran has continued a long-term trend of high execution rates, with known figures indicating well over one thousand executions in 2024 and further increases in 2025. The use of capital punishment in Iran spans a wide range of offences, including serious crimes and drug-related charges, and is occurring amid an environment of domestic unrest and stringent judicial processes.
Saudi Arabia has also seen a record number of executions in 2025, surpassing its previous annual totals and breaking its own historical high for the second year running.
A majority of those executed in the kingdom this year were convicted of non-lethal drug-related offences, and the total includes foreign nationals and individuals from diverse backgrounds.
These developments reflect a broader surge in recorded executions worldwide, with Amnesty International’s annual report on the death penalty showing that known executions reached their highest level since 2015. Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia alone accounted for more than ninety per cent of the executions recorded in 2024, with figures pointing to continued prominence for these countries in global death penalty statistics.
While many nations have abolished capital punishment or seen significant declines in its use, the concentrated increase in a small number of states underscores how policy decisions at the national level can shape global trends.
Human rights advocates point to the rising use of the death penalty for a range of offences, including drug crimes, as incompatible with evolving international norms on limiting capital punishment to the most serious crimes.
The United States, Iran and Saudi Arabia’s prominent roles in this rise highlight divergent legal philosophies and the enduring controversy around the death penalty’s application in the twenty-first century.
