Executions nearly doubled in the U.S. last year, and soared abroad

"The number of executions around the globe spiked to a 44-year high in 2025, according to a new report from Amnesty International, with state-sanctioned killings nearly doubling in the United States in the span of a year. A total of 2,707 people were killed in 17 countries related to criminal charges ranging from drug offenses to acts of political dissidence, the human rights organization reported Sunday. That marks a 78% rise in executions from the previous year, when Amnesty recorded 1,518 executions."

"Iran accounted for most of last year's executions, putting 2,159 people to death more than double its executions in 2024. In September, Amnesty said that Iran in 2025 had already reached its highest number of executions in 15 years. It attributed the surge partly to the country's increased use of the death penalty "as a tool of state repression and to crush dissent," since 2022, when a sweeping women's rights protest movement erupted."

"Many countries used the death penalty to enforce strict drug laws, according to Amnesty, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, the latter of which executed at least 356 people in 2025. The nonprofit organization, which supports the abolition of the death penalty, says its execution count does not include suspected thousands of executions carried out in China, which the organization describes as the leading country for executions anywhere in the world."

"The U.S. similarly saw a sharp increase in prisoner executions 47 across 11 states in the last year, up from 25 in 2024. The U.S., where the death penalty applies only to murder or treason cases, is the only country in the Americas to have carried out criminal executions last year, Amnesty says. Florida led that count with 19 executions."

Executions worldwide rose to a 44-year high in 2025, with state-sanctioned killings nearly doubling in the United States over one year. Amnesty International recorded 2,707 executions across 17 countries tied to criminal charges, including drug offenses and political dissidence, representing a 78% increase from 1,518 the prior year. Iran accounted for most executions, killing 2,159 people, more than double 2024, and reaching its highest level in 15 years by September. Amnesty attributed the surge partly to increased use of the death penalty for state repression and to crush dissent since 2022. Saudi Arabia executed at least 356 people in 2025. Amnesty’s counts exclude suspected thousands of executions in China, which it describes as the leading execution country. In the U.S., executions rose to 47 across 11 states from 25 in 2024, with Florida leading at 19.

Read at www.npr.org