Iran was the primary driver behind an 87% increase in executions around the world last year, according to a new report by Amnesty International.
The human rights organization said it tallied 2,707 people executed in 17 nations in 2025, up from 1,518 the year before.
Florida was the main culprit behind a spike in executions in the United States, which nearly doubled from 25 to 47 over the same span, said authors of “Death Sentences and Executions 2025.”
“The resort to the death penalty surged as the authorities of several countries placed this cruel punishment at the center of flawed public security and ‘tough on crime’ narratives to assert control, project state power and score political points,” the report states.
Internationally, the increase was mostly due to Iran, where authorities executed at least 2,159 people last year compared to 972 in 2024.
“The Iranian authorities continued to weaponize the death penalty, often after grossly unfair trials, to instill fear among the population and punish those who challenged, or are perceived to have challenged, the Islamic Republic of Iran establishment,” the report says.
The report cites the executions of two men for their involvement in the 2022 ‘Woman Life Freedom’ protests that swept the country after a Kurdish woman visiting the country was arrested for wearing a hijab improperly and later died in police custody.
“Under the guise of national security, the Iranian authorities also intensified their use of the death penalty against those accused of espionage or collaboration with Israel in the aftermath of Israeli military strikes on Iran in June 2025, executing at least 11 men on these charges, as opposed to two before the strikes.”
Saudi Arabia had the next highest number of executions last year, with at least 356, including an alarming share (67%) carried out for drug offenses. A large proportion of those put to death were foreign nationals (188), the report added.
The study added that anti-drug efforts were factors behind increased executions in several countries.
“Nearly half (1,257 or 46%) of all known executions were recorded for drug-related offences, in five countries (China, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Singapore). The authorities of Algeria, Kuwait and the Maldives also drove legislative efforts to expand the scope of the death penalty for drug-related crimes.”
And the only reason China isn’t listed as “the world’s lead executioner” is because its government considers its use of the death a state secret, researchers said. No statistics are available.
In addition, Amnesty International said it was unable to acquire reliable figures for executions carried out in North Korea and Vietnam, which are presumed to be executing people “extensively.”
Overall, the rising trend nationally was led by “countries where the authorities have tightened their grip on power by restricting civic space, silencing dissent and displaying disregard for protections established under international human rights law and standards.”
The United Nations and death penalty abolitionists in the U.S. have made similar claims against American states where botched executions and the use of secretly procured, untested chemicals and gases are used to execute people.
In fact, the U.S. is the only country where nitrogen gas asphyxiation is used in executions, according to the study. The Death Penalty Information Center identifies those states as Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.
And for the 17th straight year, the U.S. was the only country in the Americas to carry out executions.
“In the USA, the unprecedented rise in executions in one state — Florida — drove the national total to the highest figure since 2009, as officials at the federal level and in some states promoted inflammatory and flawed narratives on the death penalty and its effect on crime, advocating for an increase in its use,” the report says.
Following Florida’s 19 executions in 2025 were Alabama, South Carolina and Texas with five executions apiece. Tennessee was next with three, followed by Arizona, Indiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma, each with two. Louisiana and Missouri each carried out one execution.
But Florida “represented the pinnacle of regressive steps and alarming commentary that put the death penalty at the center of flawed security narratives for political gain,” the report claims.