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Amnesty reports 40-year high in global executions

Amnesty International said executions and death sentences rose sharply worldwide in 2025, reaching the highest levels recorded in four decades. The group said the figures were driven in part by secrecy in some countries, including China, and the trend matters because it points to widening use of capital punishment despite years of international pressure to limit it.

Amnesty International

Amnesty International says the latest figures show a sharp rise in executions and death sentences, reversing some of the progress seen in recent years. It argues that secrecy in several countries makes the true scale of the practice harder to measure.

Government secrecy concerns

The report says China, Vietnam and North Korea remain among the countries where official information on executions is limited. That lack of transparency leaves researchers with an incomplete picture of how often the death penalty is being used.

  • The modern global anti-death-penalty movement grew rapidly in Europe after the Second World War.
  • Some countries that have abolished executions still allow them in wartime or under military law.
  • International human rights law does not ban the death penalty outright, but it pushes states toward strict limits.
Amnesty reports 40-year high in global executions | Implica