Iran doubled executions in 2025 as global death penalty use hit 44-year high

World Iran doubled executions in 2025 as global use of the death penalty hit 44-year high By Emily Mae Czachor Emily Mae Czachor News Editor Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek. Read Full Bio Emily Mae Czachor May 18, 2026 / 7:14 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google The use of the death penalty skyrocketed last year, with documented executions reaching a worldwide high not seen since 1981, a new report found. A majority of the increase came from Iran, where the annual execution rate doubled, according to the report by human rights organization Amnesty International.At least 2,707 people were executed globally in 2025, the report said, although it acknowledged the overall count was likely much higher. Amnesty International said thousands of additional executions are believed to have taken place in China, but any concrete information about them could not be verified because of the country's secrecy surrounding its death penalty practices.Excluding China, the overall number of documented executions still marked a 78% increase from the global tally that Amnesty International reported for 2024. Iran was responsible for at least 2,159 executions, the report said, more than double the number from the previous year. According to the report, the remaining executions took place in just 16 different countries: Saudi Arabia, with at least 356; Yemen, with at least 51; the United States, with 47; Egypt, with 23; Somalia, with at least 17; Kuwait, with 17; Singapore, with 17; Afghanistan, with 6; the United Arab Emirates, with 3; and Japan, South Sudan and Taiwan, with one each. Amnesty International said it was also able to corroborate executions or death sentences in Iraq, North Korea and Vietnam, "but had insufficient information to provide a credible minimum f...