Close to half of the executions recorded in 2025 were the result of the intensification of highly punitive approaches in the “war on drugs”. Drug-related executions in China, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Singapore contributed to these numbers.
The death penalty has often been used by states as a show of power, and nowhere is this clearer than in the executions connected to drug offences.
However, there are still signs that the tide is changing – in 2025 Viet Nam was one of the countries that took steps away from the death penalty and abolished this cruel punishment for eight offences, including drug transportation.