GNV News, May 26, 2026

According to the annual report released by the international human rights organization Amnesty International on May 17, 2026, the number of executions worldwide in 2025 reached 2,707, a 78% increase compared with 2024 and the highest figure since 1981. About 46% of all executions were for drug-related offenses that do not constitute the “most serious crimes,” which the report points out is a violation of international human rights law and standards.

The biggest factor was Iran, where at least 2,159 people were executed—more than twice the number in 2024—accounting for 80% of the global total. In addition to using the death penalty as a tool to suppress those who oppose the Islamic Republic of Iran, the authorities executed two people in connection with the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest movement. Executions for espionage also surged following a military attack from Israel in June 2025.

Saudi Arabia also carried out a record 356 or more executions, and together with Iran accounted for 93% of all executions worldwide. Kuwait’s executions increased about threefold (from 6 to 17 people), Egypt’s about twofold (from 13 to 23 people), Singapore’s about twofold (from 9 to 17 people), and the United States’ about twofold (from 25 to 47 people). The United States was the only country in the Americas to carry out executions for the 17th consecutive year, with 19 people put to death in Florida alone. In China, thousands are estimated to have been executed, but the exact figures are kept secret. It is estimated that executions were carried out in more than 17 countries; Japan, South Sudan, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates resumed executions after a break of more than two years.

At the same time, there was also progress toward abolition of the death penalty. Vietnam abolished capital punishment for eight offenses, including drug trafficking and bribery, and Gambia abolished it for crimes such as murder and treason. Bills to abolish the death penalty are under deliberation in Lebanon and Nigeria. The United Nations is advocating for the universal abolition of the death penalty, and on October 7, 2025, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution that includes calls for reducing the scope of capital offenses and for abolishing mandatory death sentences. Currently, 113 countries—more than half of all states worldwide—have completely abolished the death penalty, and more than two-thirds have abolished it in law or in practice.

Learn more about recent trends toward abolishing the death penalty → “A step forward toward a world without the death penalty?”

Learn more about the past status of the death penalty → “The death penalty around the world”

A poster titled “The Death Penalty and Victims” displayed at a UN meeting (Photo: Manuel Elias / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0])