Executions reach highest level in a decade, reports Amnesty International

State executions around the world reached their highest level since 2015, according to a new Amnesty International report. 

In 2024, at least 1,500 people were executed, with Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia accounting for a combined 1,380 of these deaths. The United States was responsible for 25.

Despite the surge, Amnesty noted a record low in the number of countries enforcing the death penalty—only 15 in total, the lowest for the second year running.

“These figures are the highest they have been since 2015,” Amnesty reported, though the actual number is likely much higher due to a lack of transparency from countries such as China, North Korea, and Vietnam.

China is believed to carry out thousands of executions annually, but the data remains state-classified, as is the case in Vietnam.

The report, Death Sentences and Executions 2024, links the spike to Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, where executions rose dramatically. Iran’s total jumped from at least 853 in 2023 to at least 972 last year. 

Iraq nearly quadrupled its figure from 16 to 63, while Saudi Arabia doubled its executions to at least 345.

Amnesty stated that over 40% of the executions were for drug-related crimes, which it says violates human rights law. It also warned of the increasing trend of using the death penalty against protesters.

Agnes Callamard, Amnesty’s Secretary General, said: “The tide is turning on capital punishment... it is only a matter of time until the world is free from the shadow of the gallows.”

While some countries increased executions, others moved to abolish or limit the practice. Zimbabwe passed a law eliminating the death penalty for ordinary crimes, and death row inmates in Japan and the US received acquittals or clemency in 2024.

More than two-thirds of UN member states also voted for a moratorium on the death penalty last year, signalling growing international opposition to capital punishment.