List of wars by death toll

This list of wars by death toll includes all deaths directly or indirectly caused by the deadliest wars in history. These numbers encompass the deaths of military personnel resulting directly from battles or other wartime actions, as well as wartime or war-related civilian deaths, often caused by war-induced epidemics, famines, or genocides. Due to incomplete records, the destruction of evidence, differing counting methods, and various other factors, the death tolls of wars are often uncertain and highly debated. For this reason, the death tolls in this article typically provide a range of estimates.

Compiling such a list is further complicated by the challenge of defining a war. Not every violent conflict constitutes a war; for instance, mass killings and genocides occurring outside of wartime are excluded, as they are not necessarily wars in themselves. This list broadly defines war as an extended conflict between two or more armed political groups. Consequently, it excludes mass death events, such as human sacrifices, ethnic cleansing operations, and acts of state terrorism or political repression during peacetime or in contexts unrelated to war.

List

War	Death range	Date	Combatants	Location	% of global population (rough estimates)
World War II	70–85 million	1939–1945	Allied Powers vs. Axis Powers	Global	3.04%–3.69%
Mongol invasions and conquests	20–60 million	1206–1368	Mongol Empire vs. various states in Eurasia	Asia and Europe	5.55%–13.54%
Three Kingdoms	34 million	220–280	Multiple sides but predominantly Cao Wei vs Shu Han vs Eastern Wu	China	13.28%–17.89%
Taiping Rebellion	20–30 million	1850–1864	Qing Dynasty vs. Taiping Heavenly Kingdom	China	1.42%–2.65%
Manchu Conquest of China	25 million	1618–1683	Manchu vs. Ming Dynasty	China	4.16%–5.31%
World War I	15–22 million	1914–1918	Allied Powers vs. Central Powers	Global	0.85%–1.25%
Conquests of Timur	7–17 million	1369–1405	Timurid Empire vs. various states in Asia	Central Asia, West Asia, and South Asia	1.94%–5.55%
An Lushan rebellion	13 million	754–763	Tang Dynasty and Uyghur Khaganate vs. Yan Dynasty	China	6.04%
Spanish conquest of Mexico	10.5 million	1519–1530	Spanish Empire and allies vs. Aztec Empire and allies	Mexico	2.33%
Russian Civil War	7–10 million	1917–1922	Multiple sides: Bolsheviks, anti-Bolshevik left, White Movement, Allied and Central Intervention, as well as various separatists	Russia	0.37%–0.53%
Chinese Civil War	4–9 million	1927–1949	Multiple sides, but predominantly Communists vs. Kuomintang	China	0.19%–0.43%
Thirty Years' War	4.5–8 million	1618–1648	Anti-Imperial Alliance vs. Imperial Alliance	Europe	0.77%–1.38%
Crusades	1–9 million	1095–1291	Originally Byzantine Empire vs. Seljuk Empire, but evolved into Christians vs. Muslims	Europe and the Middle East	0.31%–2.8%
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire	7.7 million	1533–1572	Spanish Empire vs. Inca Empire	South America	1.71%
Reconquista	7 million	718–1492	Christian peninsular kingdoms vs. Islamic peninsular kingdoms	Iberian Peninsula	1.94%
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars	4–7 million	1792–1815	French Republic, later French Empire, vs. Coalition forces	Europe	0.49%–0.86%
Conquests of Menelik II	5-6 million	1878–1904	Ethiopian Empire vs. Emirate of Harar, Kingdom of Kaffa, Kingdom of Wolaita, and allies	Horn of Africa	0.39%
Mahdist War	4-6 million	1881-1899	Mahdist Sudan vs. United Kingdom and allies	Sudan
Second Congo War	3–5.4 million	1998–2003	Multiple sides	Democratic Republic of the Congo	0.05%–0.09%
Spanish conquest of New Granada	5.25 million	1525–1540	Spanish Empire vs. Muisca Confederation and other civilizations	South America	1.17%
Deccan wars	4.6–5 million	1680–1707	Mughal Empire vs. Maratha Confederacy	Indian subcontinent	0.75%–0.82%
Northern Wars	3.57–4.57 million	1554–1721	Multiple sides	Eastern and Northern Europe	0.46%–1.02%
Vietnam War	1.3–4.2 million	1955–1975	North Vietnam and allies vs. South Vietnam and allies	Indochina	0.027%–0.153%
Nigerian Civil War	3.04–4.1 million	1967–1970	Nigeria vs. Biafra	Nigeria
French Wars of Religion	2–4 million	1562–1598	French catholics vs Huguenots	France	0.40%–0.89%
Korean War	2.5–3.5 million	1950–1953	North Korea and allies vs. South Korea and allies	Korean Peninsula
Hundred Years' War	2.3–3.5 million	1337–1453	House of Valois vs. House of Plantagenet	Western Europe	0.51%–1.00%
Soviet–Afghan War	1–3 million	1979–1989	Soviet Union and Democratic Republic of Afghanistan vs. Afghan mujahideen	Afghanistan
Delhi Conquest of North India	0.5–3 million	1300–1310	Delhi Sultanate vs. North Indian States	Indian subcontinent	0.14%–0.86%
Bangladesh Liberation War	0.3-3 million	1971	India and Provisional Government of Bangladesh vs. Pakistan	Indian subcontinent
Mexican Revolution	1–2.7 million	1910–1920	Anti-government forces vs. Pro-government forces	Mexico
Fang La Rebellion	2 million	1120–1122	Song Dynasty vs. Fang La rebels	China	0.56%–0.63%
Ethiopian Civil War and Eritrean War of Independence	1.75–2 million	1961–1991	EPRDF, later EPLF, vs. Derg and People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia	Horn of Africa
Russo-Circassian War and Caucasian War	1.5–2 million	1763–1864	Circassian Confederation, Principality of Abkhazia, and Caucasian Imamate vs. Russian Empire	Caucasus
Second Sudanese Civil War	1–2 million	1983–2005	Sudan vs. SSPDF	Sudan
Tây Sơn wars	1–2 million	1771–1802	Tây Sơn dynasty vs. Nguyễn lords, Kingdom of Cambodia, Rattanakosin Kingdom, and Kingdom of France	Indochina
Akbar's Conquest of North India	1–2 million	1556–1605	Mughal Empire vs. North Indian States	Indian subcontinent
Indian Rebellion of 1857	0.8–2 million	1857–1858	United Kingdom and allies vs. Indian rebels and allies	Indian subcontinent
Balkan Wars	0.75–1.77 million	1912–1913	Ottoman Empire vs. Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro; later Bulgaria vs. Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, and Romania	Balkans
Algerian War	0.4–1.6 million	1954–1962	France vs. Separatists National Liberation Front, Algerian National Movement, and Algerian Communist Party	North Africa
Seven Years' War	1–1.5 million	1756–1763	Great Britain, Hanover, Prussia, Portugal, and allies vs. France, Habsburg empire, Saxony, Spain, and allies	Global
Warring States period and Qin's wars of unification	0.65–1.5 million	475 BCE–221 BCE	Multiple sides	China	0.35%–1.30%
French conquest of Algeria	0.98–1.48 million	1830–1903	France vs. Regency of Algiers, Emirate of Abdelkader, Kingdom of Beni Abbas, and allies	North Africa
Gallic Wars	0.7–1.47 million	58 BCE–50 BCE	Roman Republic vs. Gauls and allies	Gaul	0.37%–1.28%
Jewish–Roman wars	0.35–1.4 million	66–135	Roman Empire vs. Judean provisional government	Fertile Crescent	0.17%–0.74%
War of the Spanish Succession	0.4–1.25 million	1701–1714	Habsburg Spain, Great Britain, Holy Roman Empire, and allies vs. Bourboun Spain, Kingdom of France, and allies	Global
Wars of Alexander the Great	1 million	336 BCE–323 BCE	Macedonian Empire vs. Achaemenid Empire and allies	West Asia and Central Asia
Japanese invasions of Korea	1 million	1592–1598	Joseon and Ming dynasty vs. Japan	Korean Peninsula
Panthay Rebellion	1 million	1856–1873	Qing Dynasty vs. Pingnan Guo	China
American Civil War	0.6–1 million	1861–1865	United States vs. Confederate States	North America
Mozambican Civil War	0.5–1 million	1977–1992	People's Republic of Mozambique, later Republic of Mozambique, and allies vs. RENAMO and allies	Mozambique
First Sudanese Civil War	0.5–1 million	1955–1972	Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, later Democratic Republic of the Sudan, vs. Sudan Defence Force	Sudan
Somali Civil War	0.35–1 million	1981/1988/1991–present	Multiple sides	Horn of Africa
Burmese–Siamese wars	0.26–0.9 million	1547–1855	Thailand vs. Myanmar	Southeast Asia
First Indochina War	0.4–0.84 million	1946–1954	Viet Minh, Pathet Lao, and Khmer Issarak vs. French Union	Indochina
Angolan Civil War	0.8 million	1975–2002	People's Republic of Angola, later Republic of Angola, and allies vs. Democratic People's Republic of Angola and allies	Angola
Burundian Civil War	0.55–0.8 million	1993–2005	Burundi vs. Ethnic Hutu vs. Tutsi Militants	Rwanda and Burundi
Second Punic War	0.77 million	218 BCE–201 BCE	Roman Republic vs. Ancient Carthage	Southern Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, and North Africa
War of Austrian Succession	0.75 million	1740–1748	France, Prussia, Spain, and allies vs. Habsburg monarchy, Great Britain, Dutch Republic, and allies	Europe, the Americas, and the Indian subcontinent
Third Punic War	0.75 million	149 BCE–146 BCE	Roman Republic vs. Ancient Carthage	North Africa
Iran-Iraq War	0.45–0.7 million	1980–1988	Islamic Republic of Iran vs. Iraqi Republic	Iran and Iraq
Nine Years' War	0.68 million	1688–1697	Kingdom of France vs. Grand Alliance	Europe
Crimean War	0.61–0.67 million	1853–1856	Russian Empire vs. Ottoman Empire, France, and United Kingdom	Crimea, Black Sea, Caucasus, and the Balkans
Syrian civil war	0.58–0.61 million	2011–2024	Multiple sides	Levant
Mexican War of Independence	0.6 million	1810–1821	Mexican patriots vs. Spanish Empire	North and Central America
Bahmani–Vijayanagar Wars	0.6 million	1362–1443	Vijayanagara Empire and Musunuri Nayakas vs. Bahmani Sultanate	Indian subcontinent
Turkish War of Independence	0.4–0.6 million	1919–1923	Turkey vs. Greece, France, United Kingdom, and Armenia	Anatolia
Tigray War	0.16–0.6 million	2020–2022	Ethiopia and Eritrea vs. Tigray People's Liberation Front and allies	Horn of Africa
Roman-Germanic wars	0.54 million	113 BCE–774	Roman Republic, later Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire, vs. Germanic tribes	Germania
First Punic War	0.4–0.54 million	264 BCE–241 BCE	Roman Republic vs. Ancient Carthage	Southern Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, and North Africa
Paraguayan War	0.15–0.5 million	1864–1870	Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay vs. Paraguay	South America
Uganda-Tanzania War and Ugandan Bush War	0.1–0.5 million	1978–1986	Uganda vs. Tanzania, National Liberation Front, and National Resistance Movement	Uganda and Tanzania
Papua conflict	0.1–0.5 million	1962–present	Indonesia vs. Free Papua Movement	New Guinea
Eighty Years' War	0.1–0.5 million	1566–1648	Spanish Empire vs. Separatist Dutch Republic	Low Countries
Russo-Ukrainian War	0.35–0.48 million	2014–present	Union of People's Republics, later Russia and North Korea vs. Ukraine	Eastern Europe and the Black Sea
Spanish Civil War	0.35–0.47 million	1936–1939	Nationalists vs. Republicans	Iberian Peninsula
Colombian conflict	0.45 million	1964–present	Colombia vs. Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, FARC, ELN, and other paramilitary groups	South America
Franco-Prussian War	0.43 million	1870–1871	Second French Empire, later Third French Republic vs. North German Confederation	Central Europe
Polish–Ottoman Wars	0.43 million	1485–1699	Poland-Lithuania, Holy League, and allies vs. Ottoman Empire and allies	Central Europe and Balkans
Roman–Greek wars	0.42 million	280 BCE–30 BCE	Roman Republic vs. Greek states, later Greek rebels, and Ptolemaic Kingdom	Peloponnese Peninsula, Balkans, Anatolia, Egypt, and Italian Peninsula
Maratha invasions of Bengal	0.4 million	1741–1751	Maratha Confederacy vs. Bengal Nawab	Indian subcontinent
Colombian War of Independence	0.4 million	1810–1825	Colombian patriots vs. Spanish Empire	South America
Third Indochina War	0.4 million	1975–1991	Democratic Kampuchea, China, and Thailand vs. Vietnam, Laos, and People's Republic of Kampuchea vs. Communist Party of Thailand	Indochina
War in Darfur	0.4 million	2003–2020	Sudan vs. SRF and SLM/A	Sudan
Mexican war on drugs	0.35–0.4 million	2006–present	Mexico vs drug cartels	Mexico
Song–Đại Việt war	0.25–0.4 million	1075–1077	Song Dynasty vs. Đại Việt	Indochina
Cuban Wars of Independence and Spanish–American War	0.39 million	1868–1898	United States, Cuban Revolutionaries, and Philippine Revolutionaries vs. Spanish Empire	Caribbean and the Philippines
South Sudanese Civil War	0.38 million	2013–2020	South Sudan vs. SPLM-IO, Nuer White Army, and SSDM	South Sudan
Yemeni civil war	0.37 million	2014–present	Multiple sides	Yemen
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)	0.36 million	2001–2021	Taliban and allies vs. United States-led coalition and the Afghan Government	Afghanistan
Boko Haram insurgency	0.35 million	2009–present	Multinational Joint Task Force vs. Boko Haram	Nigeria
Franco-Dutch War	0.34 million	1672–1678	Kingdom of France vs. Dutch Republic	Western Europe
Ottoman–Venetian wars	0.34 million	1415–1718	Ottoman Empire vs. Holy League	Mediterranean Sea, Greece, and Cyprus
Liberian Civil Wars and Sierra Leone Civil War	0.3–0.32 million	1989–2003	Liberian government, Revolutionary United Front vs. National Patriotic Front of Liberia, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, Movement for Democracy in Liberia, Sierra Leone	West Africa
Cambodian Civil War	0.27–0.31 million	1967–1975	Khmer Rouge and allies vs. Kingdom of Cambodia, later the Khmer Republic, and allies	Indochina
Goguryeo–Sui War	0.3 million	598–614	Sui Dynasty vs. Goguryeo	Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula
Carlist Wars	0.3 million	1833–1876	Carlists vs. Liberals and Republicans	Iberian Peninsula
Iraqi conflict	0.27–0.3 million	2003–2017	Multiple sides	Levant
Gulf War	0.17–0.3 million	1990–1991	Kuwait and the United States-led coalition vs. Iraq	Kuwait and Iraq
Social War (91–87 BC)	0.1–0.3 million	91 BCE–87 BCE	Roman Republic and allies vs. Marsic and Samnite rebels, and allies	Italian Peninsula
Roman conquest of Britain	0.13–0.29 million	43–84	Roman Empire vs. Celtic Britons	Great Britain
Philippine–American War	0.21–0.28 million	1899–1913	United States vs. Philippine Republic, later Tagalog Republic, Sultanate of Sulu, and Sultanate of Maguindanao	Philippines
Kalinga War	0.25 million	262 BCE–261 BCE	Maurya Empire vs. Kalinga	Indian subcontinent
First Congo War	0.25 million	1996–1997	Zaire vs. AFDL	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Cristero War	0.25 million	1926–1929	Mexico vs. Cristeros	Mexico
Greek War of Independence	0.24 million	1821–1829	Ottoman Empire vs. Separatist First Hellenic Republic	Balkans and Peloponnese Peninsula
Myanmar conflict	0.23 million	1948–present	National Unity Government of Myanmar vs. State Administration Council	Myanmar
American Revolution	0.18–0.23 million	1775–1783	American Patriots vs. Great Britain	North America
Chechen conflict	0.08–0.23 million	1994–2009	Russia vs. Separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria	Caucasus
Indian Annexation of Hyderabad	0.2 million	1947–1948	India vs. Hyderabad	Indian subcontinent
La Violencia	0.2 million	1948–1958	Colombian Conservative Party vs. Colombian Liberal Party	South America
Greco-Persian Wars	0.2 million	499 BCE–449 BCE	Greek city-states vs. Achaemenid Empire	Southeast Europe, West Asia, and Northeast Africa
Arab-Israeli conflict	0.2 million	1948–present	Israel vs. Arab League, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthi movement	Levant
Guatemalan Civil War	0.14–0.2 million	1960–1996	Government of Guatemala vs. Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity	Central America
North Yemen Civil War	0.1–0.2 million	1962–1970	Kingdom of Yemen vs. Yemen Arab Republic	Yemen
Italo-Senussi Wars	0.07-0.2 million	1911–1934	Kingdom of Italy vs. Senusiyya, Ottoman Empire	North Africa
Portuguese Colonial War	0.14–0.18 million	1961–1974	Estado Novo vs. MPLA, PAIGC, FNLA, among others	Angola, Guinea, and Mozambique
Thousand Days' War	0.1–0.18 million	1899–1902	Colombian Conservative Party vs. Colombian Liberal Party	South America
Sri Lankan Civil War	0.08–0.17 million	1983–2009	Sri Lankan government vs. Separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam	Sri Lanka
Civil conflict in the Philippines	0.16 million	1968–present	Filipino government vs. Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Communist Party of the Philippines, and Abu Sayyaf	Philippines
Russo-Japanese War	0.12–0.16 million	1904–1905	Empire of Japan vs. Russian Empire	East Asia
Sudanese civil war (2023–present)	0.15 million	2023–present	Sudan and allies vs. Rapid Support Forces and allies	Sudan
Algerian Civil War	0.15 million	1992–2002	Multiple sides	North Africa
Lebanese Civil War	0.12–0.15 million	1975–1990	Multiple sides	Levant
Greek Civil War	0.08–0.15 million	1946–1949	Kingdom of Greece vs. Provisional Democratic Government	Balkans and Peloponnese Peninsula
Yugoslav Wars	0.13–0.14 million	1991–2001	Separatist forces and NATO vs. Yugoslavia, later Federal Republic of Yugoslavia	Balkans
Irish Nine Years' War	0.13 million	1593–1603	Kingdom of England vs. Irish rebels	Ireland
Chaco War	0.08–0.13 million	1932–1935	Paraguay vs. Bolivia	South America
Kurdish–Turkish conflict	0.12 million	1921–2025	Turkey vs. Kurdish Republic of Ararat, later Kurdistan Worker's Party	Middle East
Federal War	0.1 million	1859–1863	Federal Venezuelan rebels vs. Conservative Venezuelan government	South America

List of wars by death toll

List

Charts and graphs

See also