5 countries where drug offences can get you executed

• Five countries confirmed drug-related executions in 2025.

• Iran recorded the highest number, followed by Saudi Arabia.

• China, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Singapore made the confirmed list.

A drug conviction can mean years in prison in many countries. But in a small number of places, it can mean something far more serious, like a death sentence that is actually carried out.

While 36 countries still retain the death penalty for certain drug offences, only a handful are known to have executed people for drug-related crimes in recent years.

In 2025, China, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Singapore all carried out confirmed executions for drug offences, according to Harm Reduction International (HRI). 

The organisation recorded at least 1,212 drug-related executions worldwide in 2025, although the actual number is likely higher because countries including China do not publish complete execution figures. Here is what to know about the five countries.

HRI recorded at least 955 executions for drug offences in Iran in 2025, accounting for roughly 79% of all confirmed drug-related executions worldwide.

The country's use of capital punishment for drug offences has increased sharply. HRI described 2025 as a record year, with drug-related executions rising by 97% compared with the previous year. 

READ MORE: Egyptian TV host who presented crime show sentenced to death in drug case

Saudi Arabia was responsible for the second-largest number of confirmed drug-related executions in 2025.

HRI recorded 240 executions for drug offences, also marking a dramatic increase from the previous year. Drug offences accounted for a large share of the country's executions.

The increase has made Saudi Arabia one of the countries most closely associated with the use of capital punishment as part of its drug-control policy. 

The country's use of capital punishment for drug trafficking has also affected Nigerians. In 2019, a Nigerian woman was executed after being convicted of drug trafficking.

READ NEXT: 5 Nigerians killed for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia in 2019

Singapore has some of the world's toughest laws against drug trafficking, and the country continues to use the death penalty for certain drug offences.

In 2025, 15 of the 17 executions recorded in Singapore were related to drug offences, according to HRI.

The country's government has long defended capital punishment as a deterrent against serious drug trafficking. 

Kuwait also carried out executions for drug offences in 2025.

HRI confirmed two drug-related executions in the country during the year. Although the number was much lower than those recorded in Iran or Saudi Arabia, Kuwait remains among the countries where drug offences have resulted in people being put to death. 

China is perhaps the biggest question mark when it comes to the global death penalty.

The country is believed to carry out more executions than anywhere else in the world, but its government treats execution figures as a state secret.

HRI confirmed that people were executed for drug offences in China in 2025, but it could not provide a reliable number. This means China's actual contribution to the global total could be substantially higher than the publicly documented figures.

There are other countries where drug-related executions are believed to have taken place.

HRI says executions are assumed to have occurred in North Korea and Vietnam, but strict government secrecy and a lack of reliable independent information mean the organisation could not confirm a minimum number for 2025.