Saudi authorities executed 356 people in 2025, according to an Agence France-Presse tally, setting a record for the number of inmates put to death in the kingdom in a single year.

Analysts have largely attributed the surge in executions to Riyadh’s ongoing “war on drugs” launched in recent years – with many of those first arrested only now being executed, following legal proceedings and convictions.

Official data released by the government said 243 people were executed in drug-related cases in 2025 alone, according to AFP’s tally. The figures from 2025 mark the second consecutive year Saudi Arabia has set a record for executions, after authorities executed 338 people in 2024.

Duaa Dhainy, a researcher at the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights, told AFP the record-breaking numbers were “proof that promises regarding human rights reforms in Saudi Arabia have no value”.

She added that the executions served as a message of “intimidation and fear for everyone”, including “migrant workers, minors and political opponents”.

The Berlin-based organisation confirmed that Saudi Arabia executed 356 people in 2025, highlighting it was the first time more foreigners were executed than Saudis in a calendar year.