Full Breakdown
Global Surge in Executions in 2025 Highlights Concentrated Use of the Death Penalty
5/18/2026, 10:42:46 PM
Escalation of Executions in 2025
Amnesty International’s 2025 annual review recorded at least 2,707 executions worldwide, up from 1,518 in 2024 – a 78 % rise. Seventeen nations carried out at least one death sentence, but the increase was driven primarily by six countries: the United States, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt and Singapore. Executions in those states doubled or tripled compared with 2024 figures.
Historical Trend Toward Abolition and Recent Reversal
For decades, global practice has moved toward abolition, with Europe and Central Asia reporting no executions or death sentences in 2025. The 2025 spike represents a reversal concentrated among a small group of states that continue to employ capital punishment despite the broader trend.
Principal Actors and Institutions
- Amnesty International – human-rights organization publishing the annual death-penalty review.
- Agnès Callamard – Secretary-General of Amnesty International, author of the report’s commentary.
- United States – federal and state authorities; executions occurred in 11 states, the highest number (19) in Florida.
- Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Singapore – national governments responsible for the bulk of the increase.
- Donald Trump – former U.S. president noted for championing the federal death penalty during his terms.
Execution Data by Country
- Iran: >= 2,159 executions (more than double 2024).
- Saudi Arabia: >= 356 executions, largely for drug-related offenses.
- Kuwait: 6 -> 17 executions (tripling).
- Egypt: 13 -> 23 executions (nearly doubling).
- Singapore: 9 -> 17 executions (nearly doubling).
- United States: 25 -> 47 executions; 19 occurred in Florida, the state with the highest count.
The report excludes China, which Amnesty estimates carries out “thousands” of executions annually, because reliable data are unavailable.
Implications for Human Rights
The concentration of executions in a handful of states raises concerns about the use of capital punishment as a tool to “instill fear, crush dissent and demonstrate state power over disadvantaged and marginalized communities.” The United States remains the only country in the Americas to retain the death penalty, with half of its executions occurring in Florida. The surge underscores divergent trajectories between abolition-leaning regions and those intensifying punitive measures.
Official Statements from Amnesty International
Agnès Callamard attributed the worldwide increase to a “small, isolated group of states willing to carry out executions at all costs,” emphasizing that the trend runs counter to a long-standing global move toward abolition. She also highlighted progress elsewhere, noting the absence of executions in Europe and Central Asia and legislative initiatives in Nigeria and Lebanon aimed at abolishing the death penalty.
Criticism of the Spike
Amnesty’s analysis frames the heightened use of capital punishment as a “shameless minority” weaponizing the penalty to reinforce state authority, thereby challenging international human-rights norms.
Verbatim Quotes
- “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,” — Agnès Callamard, Secretary-General, Amnesty International
- “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.” — Agnès Callamard, Secretary-General, Amnesty International
- “With human rights under threat around the world, millions of people continue to fight against the death penalty each year in a powerful demonstration of our shared humanity,” — Agnès Callamard, Secretary-General, Amnesty International
- “Total abolition is possible if we all stand strong against the isolated few. We must keep the flame of abolition burning bright until the world is entirely free from the shadows of the gallows.” — Agnès Callamard, Secretary-General, Amnesty International
Legislative Developments and Future Monitoring
Amnesty noted legislative progress in Nigeria and Lebanon, where bills to abolish the death penalty were introduced in 2025. Ongoing monitoring will assess whether these initiatives translate into legal reforms and whether the global execution count stabilizes or declines in subsequent years.
