Executions worldwide hit highest level since 1981, Amnesty says
What happened
Amnesty International's 2025 annual review documented at least 2,707 executions worldwide, representing a 78% increase from 2024 and the highest figure recorded since 1981 when 3,191 executions were logged. These figures exclude China, which Amnesty believes executed thousands but does not disclose data.
Iran accounted for at least 2,159 executions (approximately 80% of the global total), more than doubling from the previous year and representing the country's highest level in decades. Saudi Arabia carried out at least 356 executions, many linked to drug offenses. The United States recorded 47 executions, its highest since 2009, with Florida accounting for nearly half.
Amnesty collects data from official figures, court judgments, death row individuals and families, media reports, and civil society organizations. The group acknowledges these figures represent confirmed minimums and that true totals are likely higher. Amnesty confirmed executions in North Korea and Vietnam but lacked sufficient information for credible minimum figures from those countries.
Countervailing progress occurred in 113 countries that have fully abolished capital punishment for all crimes as of end-2025, compared to 16 in 1977. Vietnam restricted capital punishment for several offenses, and Kyrgyzstan's Constitutional Court ruled reintroduction would violate the constitution. Zimbabwe commuted all existing death sentences.
Who's perspective
This article is written from the perspective of a human rights reporting beat, closely following Amnesty International's annual report as the primary — and essentially sole — source. That means the framing, the statistics, and the moral vocabulary all originate from a single advocacy organization, which shapes what counts as a problem and how it is described.
Taken for granted
The article takes for granted that Amnesty International's methodology and definitions are reliable and sufficient, without noting that Amnesty is an advocacy group with a stated position against capital punishment. A reader might not notice that the data comes entirely from an organization that has a declared interest in the outcome of the debate it is measuring.
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