Nearly half of all known executions to date in 2025 in Iran (244) and Saudi Arabia (50) have been for drug-related crimes, tracking closely patterns documented by Harm Reduction International (HRI) for 2024. According to HRI’s new report, The Death Penalty for Drug Offenses: Global Overview 2024, the use of the death penalty for drug-related crimes reached “crisis levels” in 2024. At least 615 people were known to be executed on drug-related charges worldwide, 607 of which took place in Iran (at least 485) and Saudi Arabia (122). This marks a 32% increase from 2023 and the “deadliest year on record” since 2015, according to HRI. Drug-related executions accounted for about 40% of all known executions worldwide in 2024 and seem to be on track to reach almost half of all executions in 2025.
Thirty-four countries retain the death penalty for drug-related offenses, even though nonviolent drug offenses do not meet the international legal threshold limiting the death penalty to the “most serious” crimes. In 2024, drug-related executions were confirmed in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. HRI assumes they also occurred in the high application states of China, North Korea, and Vietnam, which heavily censor death penalty-related information. While almost four in five known executions for drug offense occurred in Iran in 2024, and while Singapore continues to tout its long held punitive approach to addressing drug-related crimes, Saudi Arabia saw a significant surge in drug-related executions in 2024 (122) after only two such executions in 2023 — a 6000% increase year-over-year. In a notable countertrend, Vietnam is considering legislation to eliminate the death penalty for eight of 18 offenses, including illegal drug transport.