Record Number of Executions in 2025

Human rights groups have condemned a record number of state sanctioned executions in 2025. And they have highlighted a recent report on executions in Saudi Arabia, according to this story from the BBC.

More than 350 people were executed in the Kingdom, many for drug related offences. About 1,500 were executed worldwide with Iran executing the most followed by Iraq and then Saudi Arabia. Many of the executions were also for drug related offences, reflecting government zero tolerance policies.

However the figure doesn’t include China, which doesn’t publish figures, where it is believed thousands are executed every year .State sanctioned executions are also secret in Vietnam and North Korea.

Fifty five countries still retain executions as state policy but only about fifteen, mostly in the Middle East and Africa , use the punishment regularly Fifteen people were executed in the United States in 2025.

Read the Saudi story and others on this controversial subject from the BBC here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg5m49j14pyo