Ten countries account for the majority of these executions: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, United States, Egypt, Somalia, Kuwait, Singapore, and Afghanistan. According to Agnès Callamard, General Secretary of Amnesty International, this group of countries “uses the death penalty to instill fear, crush dissent, and show the power that institutions exert over disadvantaged individuals and marginalized populations.”
Electric chair, firing squad, gas: the return to old methods in the USA
Iran sets a new absolute record International tensions play a role in this sad report, especially in the Middle East. With at least 2,159 recorded executions, Iran achieves the highest total since 1981. “Under the guise of national security, Iranian authorities have stepped up their use of the death penalty against individuals accused of espionage or collaboration with Israel following Israeli military strikes against Iran in June 2025, executing at least 11 men for such accusations, compared to two before the June strikes,” the report states. It also denounces the exploitation of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic, often imposed after blatantly unfair trials, with the aim of spreading fear among the population.
While the death penalty is declining worldwide, it remains prevalent in the Middle East According to Amnesty, Israel’s Knesset (Parliament) has considered several bills aimed at expanding and facilitating the application of the death penalty against Palestinians, including as a mandatory punishment. On March 30, a law providing for the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks was adopted, causing dismay due to its alleged racial targeting of Palestinians.
Elsewhere in the region, executions hit a historical high in Saudi Arabia, while their number nearly tripled in Kuwait compared to 2024. The United Arab Emirates, for their part, resumed executions for the first time since 2021.
Resurgence in Florida In the United States, while the number of new death sentences continues to decrease in 2025, executions reached their highest level since 2009, with 47 cases recorded. Four states resumed executions after a period of interruption. Florida alone carried out 19, an unprecedented number since 1972. Amnesty describes this as “the pinnacle of regressive measures observed in this country, accompanied by alarming statements that place, for political ends, the death penalty at the center of security discourses tainted with errors.” However, no federal executions have taken place, although they have resumed since Donald Trump’s first term after a 17-year hiatus.
US executions hit highest level since 2009
Contrary to these trends, no executions or death sentences were recorded in Europe or Central Asia. Amnesty International reminds that more than two-thirds of the countries in the world are already abolitionist in law or in practice, and that universal abolition is within reach. Agnès Callamard concludes, “While human rights are threatened all over the world, millions of people continue to fight against the death penalty every year, making a powerful statement of our shared humanity. We must keep the flame of abolition burning until the world is free from the shadow of the gallows.”
