World executions reach 10-year high, led by China, Iran and Saudi Arabia
In 2024, 1,518 executions were recorded. This is the highest figure since 2015 (at least 1,634).
Protest against Iranian executions in New York.
Worldwide executions reached the highest number since 2015, with more than 1,500 people executed in 15 countries in 2024. Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia were the countries where most executions were carried out.
The total known figures do not include the thousands of people believed to have been executed in China, which remains the country that carries out the most executions in the world, nor those in North Korea and Vietnam, where the death penalty is also believed to be widely used.
According to Amnesty International's Death Sentences and Executions 2024 report, 1,518 executions were recorded in 2024. This is the highest figure since 2015 (at least 1,634). However, for the second year in a row, the number of countries carrying out executions was the lowest on record.
"Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran were responsible for the overall increase in known executions. In total, these three countries carried out a shocking 1,380 recorded executions. Iraq nearly quadrupled its executions (from at least 16 to at least 63) and Saudi Arabia doubled its annual total (from 172 to at least 345), while Iran executed 119 more people than the previous year (from at least 853 to at least 972), representing 64% of all known executions," Amnesty International said.
The report highlighted that the five countries that carried out the highest number of executions in 2024 were China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen.
Regimes use execution as a weapon against dissidents
In this regard, the report highlighted that in 2024, Iran persisted in its use of the death penalty to punish individuals who were deemed to have challenged the established power of the Islamic Republic during the Women, Life and Liberty uprising.
Last year saw two of those people – including a youth with a mental disability – executed in connection with the uprising following unfair trials and torture-tainted ‘confessions,’ proving how far the authorities are willing to go to tighten their grip on power," Amnesty International said.
Executions used 'to silence human rights defenders'
"Those who dare challenge authorities have faced the most cruel of punishments, particularly in Iran and Saudi Arabia, with the death penalty used to silence those brave enough to speak out," said Agnès Callamard.
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