That number overshadowed 67 executions reported in the kingdom throughout 2021 and 27 executions in 2020.
“These individuals, 81 in total, have been convicted of various crimes, including the murder of innocent men, women and children,” said the Interior Ministry’s statement.
“The crimes committed by these people also include pledges of loyalty to foreign terrorist organizations such as ISIS (Islamic State), Al-Qaeda and Houthi,” he added.
Some have traveled to conflict zones to join “terrorist organizations”, the statement read.
The ministry did not disclose how the executions took place.
Among the men were 37 Saudi Arabian nationals found guilty in one case for attempting to murder security officials and attacking police stations and convoys, the ministry added.
According to state media reports, the kingdom executed 63 people in a single day in 1980, a year after militants had seized the Great Mosque of Mecca.
A total of 47 people, including the prominent Shiite Muslim clergyman Nimr al-Nimr, were executed in one day in 2016.
Right-wing groups accused Saudi Arabia of enforcing restrictive laws on political and religious expression and criticized it for using the death penalty, including against defendants arrested while underage.
Saudi Arabia denies accusations of human rights violations and says it is protecting its national security in keeping with its laws.
SPA, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency, said defendants had been secured the right to a lawyer and had full rights under Saudi law during the trial.