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This list of wars by death toll includes all deaths that are either directly or indirectly caused by the war. These numbers usually include the deaths of military personnel which are the direct results of battle or other military wartime actions, as well as the wartime/war-related deaths of civilians which are the results of war-induced epidemics, famines, atrocities, genocide, etc.
This section possibly contains original research .(January 2019) |
War | Death range | Date | Combatants | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conquests of Cyrus the Great | 100,000+ | 549 BC–530 BC | Persian Empire vs. various states | Middle East | Number given is the sum of all deaths in battle recorded by Persian writers during this time period, does not take into account civilian deaths, the actual number may be much greater. |
Greco–Persian Wars | 300,000+ | 499 BC–449 BC | Greek City-States vs. Persian Empire | Greece | |
Chinese Warring States | 1,500,000+ | c. 475 BC – 221 BC | Seven great powers of China | China | Estimated at 1,500,000 before Qin's wars of unification [1] |
Samnite Wars | 33,500+ | 343 BC–290 BC | Roman Republic vs. Samnites | Italy | Number given is the sum of all deaths in battle recorded by Roman writers during this time period, does not take into account civilian deaths, the actual number may be much greater. |
Wars of Alexander the Great | 142,000+ | 336 BC–323 BC | Macedonian Empire and other Greek City-States vs. Persian Empire and various other states | Middle East / North Africa / Central Asia / India | Number given is the sum of all deaths in battle during these wars recorded by Greek writers, does not take into account civilian deaths, the actual number may be much greater. |
Punic Wars | 1,620,000–1,920,000+ | 264 BC–146 BC | Roman Republic vs. Carthaginian Empire | Western Europe / North Africa | |
First Punic War | 400,000+ | 264 BC–241 BC | Roman Republic vs. Carthaginian Empire | Southern Europe / North Africa | Part of the Punic Wars |
Qin's Wars of Unification | 700,000+[ citation needed ] | 230 BC–221 BC | Qin state vs. Han, Zhao, Yan, Wei, Chu, Qi States | China | Part of Warring States period |
Second Punic War | 770,000+ | 218 BC–201 BC | Roman Republic vs. Carthaginian Empire | Western Europe / North Africa | [2] – Part of the Punic Wars |
Third Punic War | 450,000–750,000+ | 149 BC–146 BC | Roman Republic vs. Carthaginian Empire | Tunisia | Part of the Punic Wars |
Cimbrian War | 410,000–650,000 | 113 BC–101 BC | Roman Republic vs. Cimbri and Teutones | Western Europe | Part of the Germanic Wars |
Roman civil wars from Social War (91–87 BC) to War of Actium | 3,000,000+ [3] | 91 BC– 30 BC | Roman civil wars | Europe/North Africa/Middle East | Fall of the Roman Republic |
Gallic Wars | 1,000,000+ | 58 BC–50 BC | Roman Republic vs. Gallic tribes | France | |
Iceni Revolt | 150,000+ [4] | 60–61 | Roman Empire vs. Celtic tribes | England | Year is uncertain – Part of the Roman Conquest of Britain |
Jewish–Roman Wars | 1,270,000–2,000,000 [5] | 66–136 | Roman Empire vs. Jews | Middle East/North Africa | Deaths caused by Roman attempt to permanently root out Judaism included. |
First Jewish–Roman War | 250,000–1,100,000 [5] | 66–73 | Roman Empire vs. Jews | Middle East | – Part of Jewish–Roman Wars |
Kitos War | 440,000+ | 115–117 | Roman Empire vs. Jews | Southern Europe / North Africa | – Also known as the Second Jewish–Roman War – Part of Jewish–Roman Wars |
Bar Kokhba Revolt | 580,000 | 132–136 | Roman Empire vs. Jews | Middle East | – Also known as the Third Jewish–Roman War – Part of Jewish–Roman Wars |
Three Kingdoms War | 36,000,000–40,000,000 | 184–280 | Wei vs. Shu vs. Wu | China | [6] [7] – Academically, the period of the Three Kingdoms refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the conquest of the state of Wu by the Jin dynasty in 280. The earlier, "unofficial" part of the period, from 184 to 220, was marked by chaotic infighting between warlords in various parts of China. See: End of the Han dynasty - Also, note that the death range provided is actually the amount the population declined according to the census data and is likely an overestimation of actual combat fatalities. |
Yellow Turban Rebellion | 3,000,000–7,000,000 | 184–205 | Peasants vs. Eastern Han China | China | – Part of Three Kingdoms War |
Wars of the Sixteen Kingdoms | 150,000+ [ citation needed ] | 304–439 | Northern Chinese States | Northern China | Number given is the sum of all deaths in battle recorded in this time period in battles between armies of the Sixteen Kingdoms, does not take into account civilian deaths, the actual number may be much greater. |
Hunnic Reclaims | 165,000+ [ citation needed ] | 395–453 | Roman Empire vs. Hunnic Empire | Europe | Number given is the sum of all deaths in battle recorded by Roman writers during this time period; does not take into account civilian deaths; the actual number may be much greater. |
Note 1: The geometric mean is the middle of the quoted range, taken by multiplying together the endpoints and then taking the square root.
This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: limit to wars under a single leader or ruler, it is impossible to objectively compare 500 years of intermittent warfare with a given military campaign.(May 2018) |
Note: the identity of a single "war" cannot be reliably given in some cases, and some "wars" can be taken to last over more than a human lifetime, e.g. "Reconquista" (711–1492, 781 years) "Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent" (12th to 16th c., 500 years) "Crusades" (ten or more campaigns during the period 1095–1291, 196 years), "Mongol invasions and conquests" (1206–1368, 162 years), "early Muslim conquests" (622–750, 128 years), "Hundred Years' War" (1337–1453, 116 years).
War | Deaths range | Date | Combatants | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arab–Byzantine Wars | 2,000,000+[ citation needed ] | 629–1050 | Byzantine Empire and allies vs. Islamic Empire and allies | Middle East / North Africa / Southern Europe | Number given is the sum of all deaths in battle recorded by writers during this time period, does not take into account civilian deaths, the actual number may be much greater. |
Reconquista | 7,000,000 | 711–1492 | Spanish and Portuguese Christian states vs. Spanish and Portuguese Muslim states | Iberian Peninsula | [8] - Also known as the reconquest of Al-Andalus |
Goguryeo–Sui War | 300,000+ | 598–614 | Sui dynasty China and Goguryeo Kingdom Korea | China, Korea | [9] |
An Lushan Rebellion | 13,000,000–36,000,000 | 755–763 | Tang dynasty China and Islamic Empire vs. Yan state | China | [10] – Also known as the An–Shi Rebellion |
Goryeo–Khitan Wars | 90,000+ | 993–1019 | Liao Empire vs. Goryeo Kingdom | Korea | [11] |
Song–Đại Việt war | 600,000+ | 1075–1077 | Song Empire vs. Dai Viet Kingdom under Lý dynasty | China, Vietnam | [12] [13] |
Crusades | 1,000,000–3,000,000 | 1095–1291 | Originally Byzantine Empire vs. Seljuq Empire, but evolved into Christians vs. Muslims. | Europe / Middle East ("Holy Land") | [14] |
Albigensian Crusade | 200,000–1,000,000 | 1208–1229 | Papal States and France vs. Cathar States | France | [15] [16] – Also known as the Cathar Crusade – Part of the Crusades |
Mongol invasions and conquests | 30,000,000–40,000,000 | 1206–1368 | Mongol Empire vs. Several Eurasian states | Eurasia | [17] [18] [19] – Excludes the (up to) 200,000,000 deaths from the Black Death migration that may have been associated with the Mongol expansion |
Wars of Scottish Independence | 60,000–150,000 | 1296–1357 | Scotland vs. England | Scotland / England | |
Hundred Years' War | 2,300,000–3,500,000 | 1337–1453 | House of Valois vs. House of Plantagenet | Western Europe | [20] |
Conquests of Timur | 8,000,000–20,000,000 | 1370–1405 | Timurid Empire vs. several middle eastern states | Eurasia | [21] [22] |
Wars of the Roses | 35,000–105,000 | 1455–1487 | House of Lancaster, House of Tudor, and allies vs. House of York and allies | England / Wales | [23] [ better source needed ] |
War | Deaths range | Date | Combatants | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mediterranean War | 900,000–1,000,000 | 1470–1574 | Republic of Venice, Spain, Republic of Genoa, Papal States, Duchy of Savoy, and Order of Saint John vs. Ottoman Empire | Mediterranean | [24] |
Italian Wars | 300,000–400,000 | 1494–1559 | Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and some Italian states vs. France, Ottoman Empire, and some Italian states | Southern Europe (primarily) | [24] – Also known as the Great Wars of Italy |
Spanish conquest of New Granada | 5,000,000–8,000,000+ | 1499–1540 | Spanish Empire vs. Colombian civilizations | Colombia | [25] [26] - Includes Spanish conquest of the Muisca, part of the European colonization of the Americas, includes death from European disease |
Spanish conquest of Mexico | 8,000,000–10,000,000+ | 1519–1530 | Spanish Empire vs. Aztec Empire | Mexico | [24] – Part of the European colonization of the Americas, includes the cocoliztli plagues |
Spanish conquest of Yucatán | 1,460,000+ | 1519–1595 | Spanish Empire vs. Mayan states | North America | [24] – Part of the European colonisation of the Americas, includes deaths due to European disease |
Spanish conquest of Nicaragua | 575,000+ | 1522–1536 | Spanish Empire vs. Indigenous peoples of Nicaragua | Nicaragua | [24] – Part of the European colonization of the Americas, includes deaths due to European diseases |
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire | 8,400,000+ | 1533–1572 | Spanish Empire vs. Inca Empire | Peru | [24] – Part of the European colonization of the Americas, includes deaths due to European diseases |
Campaigns of Suleiman the Magnificent | 200,000+ | 1521–1566 | Ottoman Empire vs. several Balkan, African, and Arabian states | Eastern Europe / Middle East / North Africa | [27] |
German Peasants' War | 100,000+ | 1524–1525 | German Peasants vs. Swabian League | Germany | [28] – Also known as the Great Peasants War |
Arauco War | 125,000–142,000 | 1550–1790 | Spanish Empire vs. Mapuches | Chile | [24] – Part of the European colonization of the Americas, includes deaths due to European diseases |
French Wars of Religion | 2,000,000–4,000,000 | 1562–1598 | Protestants vs. France vs. Catholics | France | [29] – Also known as the Huguenot Wars |
Eighty Years' War | 600,000–700,000 | 1568–1648 | Dutch Republic, England, and France vs. Spanish Empire | Northern Europe (primarily) | [24] – Also known as the Dutch War of Independence |
Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) | 106,285+ | 1585–1604 | Spanish Empire and allies vs. Kingdom of England and allies | Americas, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, England, Ireland, Atlantic Ocean | English 88,285 [30] [31] Spanish 18,000 during the Spanish Armada [31] |
Japanese invasions of Korea | 1,000,000+ | 1592–1598 | Kingdom of Great Joseon and Ming China vs. Japan | Korea | [32] [24] |
Nine Years' War (Ireland) | 130,000+ | 1593–1603 | Irish rebels vs. Kingdom of England | Ireland | [24] |
Transition from Ming to Qing | 25,000,000+ | 1616–1683 | Qing China vs. Ming China vs. peasant rebels like the Shun dynasty (led by Li Zicheng) and Xi dynasty (led by Zhang Xianzhong) vs. Kingdom of Shu (She-An Rebellion) vs. Evenk-Daur federation (Bombogor) | China | [33] – Also known as the Ming–Qing transition |
Thirty Years' War | 4,000,000–12,000,000 | 1618–1648 | Austria and Spain vs. Anti-Habsburg states | Europe | [34] |
Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) | 200,000+ | 1635–1659 | France and allies vs. Spain and allies | Western Europe | [27] [31] |
Wars of the Three Kingdoms | 876,000+ | 1639–1651 | Royalists vs. Covenanters vs.Union of the Irish vs. Scottish Protestants vs. Parliamentarians | British Isles | [35] [36] [37] – Also known as the British Civil Wars |
Portuguese Restoration War | 80,000 | 1640–1668 | Portugal, France, and England vs. Spain | Iberian Peninsula | |
English Civil War | 211,830+ | 1642–1651 | Royalists vs. Parliamentarians | England, Scotland, and Ireland | Part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms |
Fifth Ottoman–Venetian War | 72,000 | 1645–1669 | Republic of Venice vs. Ottoman Empire | Candia, Crete, Dalmatia and Aegean Sea | |
Deluge | 3,000,000 | 1655–1660 or 1648– 1667 | Primarily Poland vs. Sweden and Russia | Poland | [38] |
Mughal–Maratha Wars | 5,000,000+ | 1658–1707 | Maratha empire vs. Mughal Empire | India-Bangladesh | [39] [40] |
Franco-Dutch War | 342,000 | 1672–1678 | France and allies vs. Dutch Republic and allies | Western Europe | Also known as the Dutch War |
Great Turkish War | 380,000+ | 1683–1699 | Ottoman Empire vs. European Holy League | Eastern Europe | [27] – Also known as the War of the Holy League |
Nine Years' War | 680,000+ | 1688–1697 | France vs. League of Augsburg (Dutch, Habsburgs, England, Scotland, Spain and others) | Global (mainly Europe) | [41] |
Great Northern War | 350,000+ | 1700–1721 | Russia and allies vs. Swedish Empire | Eastern Europe | Sweden, the Swedish Baltic provinces, and Finland, together, with a population of only 2.5 million, lost some 350,000 dead during the war from all causes. [42] |
War of the Spanish Succession | 400,000–1,250,000 | 1701–1714 | Grand Alliance vs. Bourbon Alliance | Europe / Americas | [27] |
War of Jenkins' Ear | 30,000+ | 1739–1748 | Spanish Empire vs. British Empire | American South, Caribbean, Pacific and Atlantic | [43] |
Maratha expeditions in Bengal | 400,000+ | 1741–1751 | Maratha Empire vs. Nawab of Bengal | India, Bangladesh | [44] [45] |
Seven Years' War | 868,000–1,400,000 | 1756–1763 | Great Britain and allies vs. France and allies | Worldwide | |
Sino-Burmese War | 70,000+ | 1765–1769 | Burma vs. Qing China | Southeast Asia | – Also known as the Qing invasions of Burma |
Tây Sơn rebellion | 1,200,000–2,000,000+ | 1771–1802 | Tây Sơn rebels then dynasty (British supports) and Chinese pirates vs Nguyễn lords, Trịnh lords, Lê dynasty of Vietnam; Siam; Qing dynasty of China; Kingdom of Vientiane; French army. | Southeast Asia | |
American Revolutionary War | 70,000–116,000 | 1775–1783 | United States and allies vs. British Empire and German Mercenaries | Worldwide | 37,324 battle dead, all sides, all theaters. [27] [46] [47] [48] [49] – Also known as the American War of Independence |
White Lotus Rebellion | 100,000+ | 1794–1804 | Qing China vs. White Lotus rebels | China | |
French campaign in Egypt and Syria | 65,000+ | 1798–1801 | France vs. Ottoman Empire and Great Britain | Middle East / North Africa | [27] |
Saint-Domingue expedition | 135,000+ | 1802–1803 | France vs. Haiti and UK | Haiti | [31] – Part of the Haitian Revolution |
Napoleonic Wars | 3,500,000–7,000,000 | 1803–1815 | Coalition powers vs. French empire and allies | Worldwide | See: Napoleonic Wars casualties |
Peninsular War | 1,000,000+ | 1808–1814 | Spain, Portugal and United Kingdom vs. France, Kingdom of Italy and Duchy of Warsaw | Iberian Peninsula | [31] – Part of the Napoleonic Wars |
Spanish American wars of independence | 600,000–1,200,000+ | 1808–1833 | Spain vs. American Independentists | Americas | [50] |
Colombian War of Independence | 250,000–400,000+ | 1810–1823 | Royalists vs. Patriots | Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela (Viceroyalty of New Granada) | Part of Spanish American Wars of Independence |
Venezuelan War of Independence | 228,000+ | 1810–1823 | Spain vs. Venezuelan states | Venezuela | Part of Spanish American Wars of Independence |
Mfecane | 1,000,000–2,000,000 | 1810s–1840s | Ethnic communities in southern Africa | Modern day South Africa | [51] [52] [53] [54] |
French invasion of Russia | 540,000+ | 1812 | French Empire vs. Russia | Russia | [27] – Part of the Napoleonic Wars |
Carlist Wars | 200,000+ | 1820–1876 | Carlist Insurgents vs. Spain | Spain | [50] |
Greek War of Independence | 170,000+ | 1821–1831 | Greek Revolutionaries vs. Ottoman Empire | Greece | |
French conquest of Algeria | 595,665–1,095,665 | 1830–1903 | France vs. Algerian resistance | Algeria | Between 500,000 and 1,000,000, from approximately 3 million Algerians, were killed in the first three decades of the conquest. [55] [56] French losses from 1830 to 1851 were 92,329 dead from disease and only 3,336 killed in action. [31] [57] [58] |
French colonial campaigns | 110,000+ | 1830–1895 | France vs. Local forces | Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, French Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos), Mexico, Madagascar, West Africa | In all colonial campaigns, France suffered 10,000 killed and 35,000 wounded, primarily in Algeria. From this number, a few thousand soldiers died in Mexico and Vietnam. Disease further compounded the toll, resulting in an estimated total of 110,000 deaths among French and Foreign Legion forces due to battles and disease throughout the entire 19th century. [31] |
Taiping Rebellion | 20,000,000–70,000,000 | 1850–1864 | Qing China vs. Taiping Heavenly Kingdom | China | [59] [60] [61] – Also known as the Taiping Civil War |
Crimean War | 356,000–615,000 | 1853–1856 | Ottoman Empire and allies vs. Russia | Crimean Peninsula | |
Red Turban Rebellion (1854–1856) | 1,000,000+ | 1854–1856 | Qing China vs. Red Turban rebels | China | |
Miao Rebellion | 4,900,000 [ citation needed ] | 1854–1873 | Qing China vs. Miao | China | Also known as the Qian rebellion |
Punti–Hakka Clan Wars | 500,000–1,000,000+ | 1855–1868 | Hakka vs. Punti | China | |
Panthay Rebellion | 890,000–1,000,000 | 1856–1873 | Qing China vs. Hui | China | – Also known as the Du Wenxiu Rebellion |
Indian Rebellion of 1857 | 800,000–1,000,000 | 1857–1858 | Sepoy Mutineers vs. British East India Company | India | [62] – Also known as the Sepoy Mutiny or the Indian First War of Independence |
American Civil War | 650,000–1,000,000 | 1861–1865 | Union States vs. Confederate States | USA | [63] [64] [65] |
Dungan Revolt | 8,000,000–20,000,000 | 1862–1877 | Qing China vs. Hui vs. Kashgaria | China | – Also known as the Tongzhi Hui Revolt |
French intervention in Mexico | 49,287+ | 1862–1867 | Mexican Republicans vs. France and Mexican Empire | Mexico | [31] |
Paraguayan War | 300,000–1,200,000 | 1864–1870 | Triple alliance vs. Paraguay | South America | [66] – Also known as the War of the Triple Alliance |
Austro-Prussian War | 40,000+ | 1866 | Austrian states vs. German states | Central Europe | |
Ten Years' War | 241,000+ | 1868–1878 | Spain vs. Cuba and Dominican volunteers [67] | Cuba | [31] – Also known as the Great War |
Franco-Prussian War | 433,571+ | 1870–1871 | France vs. German states | France and Prussia | |
Conquest of the Desert | 30,000–35,000 | 1870s–1884 | Argentina vs. Mapuche people | Patagonia | |
Aceh War | 97,000–107,000 | 1873–1914 | Kingdom of the Netherlands vs. Aceh Sultanate | Indonesia | [68] – Also known as the Infidel War |
First Sino–Japanese War | 48,311+ | 1894–1895 | Qing China vs. Japan | East Asia | |
Cuban War of Independence | 362,000+ | 1895–1898 | USA and Cuba vs. Spain | Cuba | [31] |
War of Canudos | 30,000+ | 1896–1897 | First Brazilian Republic vs. Canudos inhabitants | Brazil | |
Thousand Days' War | 120,000–180,000+ | 1899–1902 | Colombian Conservatives vs. Colombian Liberals | Colombia | Famine and Civilian casualties are included. [69] [70] |
Boxer Rebellion | 100,000 | 1899–1901 | Boxers vs. Foreign powers | China | |
South African War (Second Boer War) | 73,000–90,000 | 1899–1902 | United Kingdom and allies vs. South African Republic and Orange Free State | South Africa | [71] |
Philippine–American War | 234,000+ | 1899–1912 | Philippines vs. USA | Philippines | [72] – Also known as the Philippine War |
Russo-Japanese War | 101,300–206,100 | 1904–1905 | Russia vs. Japan | Northeast Asia | |
Mexican Revolution | 1,000,000–3,500,000 | 1910–1920 | Pro-government vs. Anti-government | Mexico | [73] |
1911 Revolution | 220,000 | 1911 | Qing China vs. Revolutionaries | China | |
Balkan Wars | 140,000+ | 1912–1913 | See Balkan wars | Balkan Peninsula | |
World War I | 17,000,000-40,000,000 | 1914–1918 | Allied Powers vs. Central Powers | Worldwide | [27] – Also known as the Great War |
Russian Civil War | 7,000,000–12,000,000 | 1917–1922 | Red army and allies vs. White army and allies | Russia | [74] |
Kurdish separatism in Iran | 15,000–58,000 | 1918–present | Qajar dynasty vs. Shekak (tribe) | Iran | [75] |
Iraqi–Kurdish conflict | 138,800–320,100 | 1918–2003 | Kurdistan/Iraqi Kurdistan and allies vs. Iraq and allies | Iraq | [76] [77] |
Rif War | 90,000 | 1921–1926 | Spain vs. Republic of the Rif | Morocco | [78] |
Kurdish–Turkish conflict | 100,000+ | 1921–present | Turkey vs. Kurdish people | Middle East | |
Second Italo-Senussi War | 40,000+ | 1923–1932 | Italy vs. Senussi Order | Libya | |
Chinese Civil War | 8,000,000–11,692,000 | 1927–1949 | ROC vs. PRC | China | [79] |
Chaco War | 85,000–130,000 | 1932–1935 | Bolivia vs. Paraguay | Gran Chaco | |
Second Italo–Ethiopian War | 278,000+ | 1935–1936 | Ethiopian Empire vs. Italy | Ethiopia | According to Italian government statistics, the Italians suffered 1,148 KIA, 125 DOW, and 31 MIA. [80] According to the Ethiopian government, at least 275,000 Ethiopians died in the brief war. [80] [81] – Also known as the Second Italo–Abyssinian War |
Spanish Civil War | 500,000–1,000,000 | 1936–1939 | Nationalists vs. Republicans | Spain | [31] |
Second Sino-Japanese War | 20,000,000–25,000,000 | 1937–1945 | Republic of China and allies vs. Japan | China | [82] – Part of World War II |
World War II | 80,000,000 | 1939–1945 | Allied powers vs. Axis Powers | Worldwide | [27] – Largest and deadliest war in history |
Winter War | 153,736–194,837 | 1939–1940 | Finland vs. Soviet Union | Finland | – Part of World War II |
Greco-Italian War | 27,000+ | 1940–1941 | Greece vs. Italy | Southeast Europe | – Part of World War II |
Continuation War | 387,300+ | 1941–1944 | Finland and Germany vs. Soviet Union | Northern Europe | – Part of World War II |
Soviet–Japanese War | 33,420–95,768 | 1945 | Soviet Union and Mongolia vs. Japan | Manchuria | – Part of World War II |
First Indochina War | 400,000+ | 1946–1954 | France vs. Việt Minh, Lao Assara, and Khmer Issarak | Southeast Asia | – Also known as the Indochina War |
Partition of India | 200,000–2,000,000 | 1946–1948 | India and Pakistan | South Asia | Partition of India |
Greek Civil War | 158,000+ | 1946–1949 | Greek Government army vs. DSE | Greece | [83] [84] [85] [86] |
Kashmir conflict | 80,000–110,000 | 1947–present | India vs. Pakistan | North India / Pakistan | |
La Violencia | 192,700–300,000 | 1948–1958 | Colombian Conservative Party vs. Colombian Liberal Party | Colombia | |
Internal conflict in Myanmar | 130,000–250,000 | 1948–present | Myanmar vs. Burmese Insurgent Groups | Myanmar | [87] |
Arab–Israeli conflict | 116,074+ | 1948–present | Arab Countries vs. Israel | Middle East | [88] |
Annexation of Hyderabad | 29,000–242,000 | 1948 | Dominion of India vs. Hyderabad | India | – Also known as Operation Polo |
Korean War | 1,500,000–4,500,000 | 1950–1953 | South Korea and allies vs. North Korea and allies | Korea | [89] American casualties in the Korean War included 54,246 dead and 103,284 wounded. |
Algerian War | 400,000–1,500,000 | 1954–1962 | Algeria vs. France | Algeria | [90] – Also known as the Algerian War of Independence |
Ethnic conflict in Nagaland | 34,000+ | 1954–present | India and Myanmar vs. Naga People | Northeast India | [91] |
Vietnam War | 1,300,000–4,300,000 | 1955–1975 | South Vietnam and allies vs. North Vietnam and allies | Vietnam | [92] [93] [94] American casualties in the Vietnam War included 58,226 dead and 304,000 wounded. – Also known as the Second Indochina War - Includes deaths in Cambodia and Laos |
First Sudanese Civil War | 500,000+ | 1955–1972 | Sudan vs. South Sudanese Rebels | Sudan | |
Congo Crisis | 100,000+ | 1960–1965 | DRC, USA, and Belgium vs. Simba and Kwilu Rebels | Congo | [95] |
Angolan War of Independence | 83,000–103,000 | 1961–1974 | Angola vs. Portugal and South Africa | Angola | |
North Yemen Civil War | 100,000–200,000 | 1962–1970 | Kingdom of Yemen and Saudi Arabia vs. Yemen Arab Republic and United Arab Republic | Yemen | [96] |
Mozambican War of Independence | 63,500–88,500 | 1964–1974 | FRELIMO vs. Portugal | Mozambique | [97] |
Insurgency in Northeast India | 25,000+ | 1964–present | India and allies vs. Insurgent Groups | Northeast India | [87] |
Colombian conflict | 220,000-450,000+ | 1964–present | Colombia and allies vs. Far Left guerillas and Far Right paramilitares | Colombia | [98] |
Nigerian Civil War | 1,000,000–3,000,000 | 1967–1970 | Nigeria vs. Biafra | Nigeria | – Also known as the Biafran War |
Moro conflict | 120,000+ | 1969–2019 | Philippines vs. Jihadist Groups vs. Bangsamoro | Philippines | [99] |
Communist rebellion in the Philippines | 30,000–43,000 | 1969–present | Philippines vs. Communist Party of the Philippines | Philippines | [100] |
Bangladesh Liberation War | 400,000–3,600,000+ | 1971 | India and Bangladesh vs. Pakistan | Bangladesh | [101] – Also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence Figure includes 30,000 military dead, 300,000 to 3,000,000 Bengali civilian and 64,000 to 600,000 Bihari civilian deaths [102] [103] |
Ethiopian Civil War | 500,000–1,500,000 | 1974–1991 | Derg, PEDR, and Cuba vs. Anti-Communist rebel groups | Ethiopia | |
Angolan Civil War | 504,158+ | 1975–2002 | MPLA and Cuba vs. UNITA and South Africa | Angola | |
South African invasion of Angola | 50,000+ | 1975–1976 | Cuba and MPLA vs. South Africa, FNLA, UNITA and Zaire | Angola | 50,000 Angolans dead (mostly civilians) [31] – Part of the South African Border War and the Angolan Civil War |
Indonesian invasion of East Timor | 100,000–200,000 | 1975–1976 | Indonesia vs. East Timor | East Timor | |
Lebanese Civil War | 120,000–150,000 | 1975–1990 | Various groups | Lebanon | |
Insurgency in Laos | 100,000+ | 1975–2007 | Laos and Vietnam vs. "Secret army" and Hmong people | Laos | [104] |
Ogaden War | 60,000 | 1977–1978 | Ethiopia and Cuba vs. Somalia | Ethiopia | [105] |
Afghanistan conflict | 1,400,000–2,500,000 | 1978–present | see Afghanistan conflict | Afghanistan | [106] |
Kurdish–Turkish conflict | 45,000+ | 1978–present | Turkey vs. KCK | Middle East | [107] – Part of the Kurdish rebellions in Turkey |
Soviet–Afghan War | 600,000–2,000,000 | 1979–1989 | Soviet Union and Afghanistan vs. Insurgent groups | Afghanistan | [108] [109] [110] – Part of War in Afghanistan |
Salvadoran Civil War | 70,000–80,000 | 1979–1992 | El Salvador vs. FMLN | El Salvador | [111] [112] |
Iran–Iraq War | 500,000–1,500,000 | 1980–1988 | Iran and allies vs. Iraq and allies | Middle East | [113] |
Internal conflict in Peru | 70,000+ | 1980–present | Peru vs. PCP-SL and MRTA | Peru | [114] |
Ugandan Bush War | 100,000–500,000 | 1981–1986 | ULNF and Tanzania vs. National Resistance Army | Uganda | [115] [116] – Also known as the Luwero War |
Second Sudanese Civil War | 1,000,000–2,000,000 | 1983–2005 | Sudan vs. South Sudanese rebels | Sudan | |
Sri Lankan Civil War | 80,000–100,000 | 1983–2009 | Sri Lanka vs. Tamil Tigers | Sri Lanka | [117] |
Somali Civil War | 300,000–500,000 | 1986–present | Varying Somali governments vs. insurgent groups | Somalia | [118] [119] |
Lord's Resistance Army insurgency | 100,000–500,000 | 1987–present | Lord's Resistance Army vs. Central African states | Central Africa | [120] |
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | 50,000+ | 1988–2024 | Artsakh and Armenia vs. Azerbaijan and allies | Caucasus region | – Also known as the Artsakh Liberation War |
Gulf War | 25,500–40,500 | 1990–1991 | Iraq vs. Coalition Forces | Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia | |
Rwandan Civil War | 500,000–807,500 | 1990–1994 | Rwandan Patriotic Front rebel forces vs. Rwanda | Rwanda | – The majority of casualties were civilians killed by Hutu rebels in the Rwandan genocide. |
Algerian Civil War | 44,000–200,000 | 1991–2002 | Algeria vs. FIS loyalists vs. GIA | Algeria | [121] |
Bosnian War | 97,000–105,000 | 1991–1995 | Bosnia and Herzegovinian governments and allies vs. Republika Srpska and allies | Bosnia | |
1991 Iraqi uprisings | 85,000–235,000 | 1991 | Iraq vs various rebels | Iraq | [122] [123] [124] – Also known as the Sha'aban Intifada |
Eritrean–Ethiopian War | 70,000–300,000 | 1998–2000 | see Eritrean–Ethiopian War | Eritrean–Ethiopian border | |
Sierra Leone Civil War | 50,000–300,000 | 1991–2002 | see Sierra Leone Civil War | Sierra Leone | |
Burundian Civil War | 300,000+ | 1993–2005 | Burundi vs. Hutu rebels vs. Tutsi rebels | Burundi | [125] |
First Congo War | 250,000–800,000 | 1996–1997 | Zaire and allies vs. AFDL and allies | Congo | |
Second Congo War | 2,500,000–5,400,000 | 1998–2003 | See Second Congo War | Central Africa | [126] [127] [128] [129] – Also known as the Great War of Africa |
Ituri conflict | 60,000+ | 1999–2003 | Lendu Tribe vs. Hemu Tribe and allies | Congo | [130] – Part of the Second Congo War |
War on terror | 272,000–1,260,000 | 2001–2021 | Anti-Terrorist Forces vs. Terrorist groups | Worldwide | [131] [132] [133] [134] – Also known as the Global War on Terrorism |
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) | 212,191+ | 2001–2021 | See War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) | Afghanistan | [132] – Part of the War on Terror and Afghanistan conflict |
Insurgency in the Maghreb | 70,000+ | 2002–present | See Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present) | Algeria, Libya, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Mauritania and other Maghreb and Sahel countries | Part of the War on Terror. Includes Mali War, Libyan crisis (various factions of Libyan crisis vs Islamists) Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso and Jihadist insurgency in Niger. |
US Invasion of Iraq | 800,000-1,000,000[ citation needed ] | 2003 | United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland vs Iraq | Iraq | The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month |
Iraq War (US lead Coalition Invasion of Iraq & subsequent war) | 405,000–654,965 | 2003–2011 | See Iraq War | Iraq | [133] [134] [132] – Part of the War on Terror See: Casualties of the Iraq War |
War in Darfur | 300,000+ | 2003–present | SRF and allies vs. Sudan and allies vs. UNAMID | Sudan | [135] |
Kivu Conflict | 100,000+ | 2004–present | see Kivu Conflict | Congo | – Part of the Second Congo War |
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 46,872–79,000 | 2004–present | Pakistan, USA, and UK vs. Terrorist groups | Pakistan | [132] – Also known as the War in Waziristan – Part of the War on Terror and War in Afghanistan (2001–present) |
Mexican drug war | 200,000–400,000+ | 2006–present | Mexico vs. Drug cartels, including inter-cartel conflicts | Mexico | [136] [137] – Also known as the Mexican War on Drugs |
Boko Haram insurgency | 350,000+ | 2009–present | Multinational Joint Task Force vs. Boko Haram | Nigeria with spillover into Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Niger | 2,400,000 internally displaced |
Libyan crisis | 30,000–43,000 [138] [139] [140] [141] | 2011–present | First stage: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya vs Anti-Gaddafi forces; Second stage: Libyan National Army vs various militias (including jihadists); Third stage: House of Representatives vs Government of National Accord vs Islamic State and other jihadist militias | Libya | Includes the First Libyan Civil War, Factional violence in Libya and the Second Libyan Civil War |
Syrian civil war | 580,000–613,407+ | 2011–present | Syrian Arab Republic vs. Republic of Syria vs. ISIL vs. Syrian Democratic Forces | Syria | See: Casualties of the Syrian civil war |
Rojava–Islamist conflict | 50,000+ | 2013–present | Syrian Democratic Forces vs. Islamic States of Iraq and Levant vs. al-Nusra Front | Syria | 100,000 [142] Syrian Kurds fleeing to Turkey |
South Sudanese Civil War | 383,000+ [143] | 2013–2020 | South Sudan vs. SPLM-IO | South Sudan | About 190,000 died of violence and 383,000 died if healthcare services disruption and war-caused food scarcity factored in as of 2018 |
War in Iraq (2013–2017) | 195,000–200,000+ | 2013–2017 | Iraq and allies vs. ISIL | Iraq | |
Yemeni Civil War | 377,000+ | 2014–present | Yemen's Supreme Political Council vs. Hadi Government, Saudi-led Coalition and the UAE-backed Southern Movement vs Al-Qaeda | Yemen | UNDP estimate for the end of 2021. 60% attributable to hunger and disease. Also part of the Arab Winter. |
Tigray War | 162,000–378,000+ (Total civilian casualties including famine victims, per Ghent University) [144] | 2020–2022 | UFEFCF vs. Ethiopian and Eritrean Government | Ethiopia (Tigray, Afar and Amhara Regions) | Part of the Ethiopian civil conflict. |
Myanmar Civil War | 48,519 | 2021–present | National Unity Government vs. State Administration Council | Myanmar | Part of the Internal conflict in Myanmar. |
Russian invasion of Ukraine | 300,000+ | 2022–present | Russia vs. Ukraine | Ukraine | Estimates of deaths vary widely. [145] [146] The Ukrainian government stopped publishing country's demographic statistics starting from January 2022. |
Hamas–Israel war | 37,294–45,984+ | 2023–present | Israel vs Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups | Israel, Gaza Strip, spillover into West Bank, Lebanon, Syria | Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict |
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular or irregular military forces. Warfare refers to the common activities and characteristics of types of war, or of wars in general. Total war is warfare that is not restricted to purely legitimate military targets, and can result in massive civilian or other non-combatant suffering and casualties.
Since the Partition of British India in 1947 and subsequent creation of the dominions of India and Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, and military standoffs. A long-running dispute over Kashmir and cross-border terrorism have been the predominant cause of conflict between the two states, with the exception of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which occurred as a direct result of hostilities stemming from the Bangladesh Liberation War in erstwhile East Pakistan.
The following is a tabulation of United States military casualties of war.
Estimates of the casualties from the Iraq War have come in several forms, and those estimates of different types of Iraq War casualties vary greatly.
In political science, a proxy war is as an armed conflict fought between two belligerents, wherein one belligerent is a non-state actor supported by an external third-party power. In the term proxy war, the non-state actor is the proxy, yet both belligerents in a proxy war can be considered proxies if both are receiving foreign military aid from a third party country. Acting either as a nation-state government or as a conventional force, a proxy belligerent acts in behalf of a third-party state sponsor. A proxy war is characterised by a direct, long-term, geopolitical relationship between the third-party sponsor states and their client states and non-state clients, thus the political sponsorship becomes military sponsorship when the third-party powers fund the soldiers and their matériel to equip the belligerent proxy-army to launch and fight and sustain a war to victory, and government power.
The Northern Light Infantry Regiment (NLI) is a light infantry regiment in the Pakistan Army, based and currently headquartered in Gilgit, Pakistan. Along with other forces of the Pakistani military, the NLI has the primary responsibility of conducting ground operations in the interest of defending the strategically-important territory of Gilgit−Baltistan, a Pakistani-controlled region that constitutes part of Kashmir, which has been disputed between Pakistan and India since 1947. The NLI draws a majority of its recruits from native tribes present in the nearby mountainous areas who are reportedly less prone to altitude sickness and the cold temperatures that characterize high-altitude mountain warfare, allowing the regiment to conduct its duties optimally.
The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Kashmir insurgency, is an ongoing separatist militant insurgency against the Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory constituting the southwestern portion of the larger geographical region of Kashmir, which has been the subject of a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947.
The Iraqi civil war was an armed conflict from 2006 to 2008 between various sectarian Shia and Sunni armed groups, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Mahdi Army, in addition to the Iraqi government alongside American-led coalition forces. In February 2006, the insurgency against the coalition and government escalated into a sectarian civil war after the bombing of Al-Askari Shrine, considered a holy site in Twelver Shi'ism. US President George W. Bush and Iraqi officials accused Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) of orchestrating the bombing. AQI publicly denied any links. The incident set off a wave of attacks on Sunni civilians by Shia militants, followed by attacks on Shia civilians by Sunni militants.
The Taliban insurgency began after the group's fall from power during the 2001 War in Afghanistan. The Taliban forces fought against the Afghan government, led by President Hamid Karzai, and later by President Ashraf Ghani, and against a US-led coalition of forces that has included all members of NATO; the 2021 Taliban offensive resulted in the collapse of the government of Ashraf Ghani. The private sector in Pakistan extends financial aid to the Taliban, contributing to their financial sustenance.
During the War in Afghanistan, according to the Costs of War Project the war killed 176,000 people in Afghanistan: 46,319 civilians, 69,095 military and police and at least 52,893 opposition fighters. However, the death toll is possibly higher due to unaccounted deaths by "disease, loss of access to food, water, infrastructure, and/or other indirect consequences of the war." According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, the conflict killed 212,191 people. The Cost of War project estimated in 2015 that the number who have died through indirect causes related to the war may be as high as 360,000 additional people based on a ratio of indirect to direct deaths in contemporary conflicts.
The Fourth Balochistan Conflict was a five-year military conflict in Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, between the Pakistan Army and Baloch separatists and tribesmen that lasted from 1973 to 1977.
The following lists events that happened during 1988 in Afghanistan.
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is a global military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks and is the most recent global conflict spanning multiple wars. The main targets of the campaign are militant Islamist movements like Al-Qaeda, Taliban and their allies. Other major targets included the Ba'athist regime in Iraq, which was deposed in an invasion in 2003, and various militant factions that fought during the ensuing insurgency. After its territorial expansion in 2014, the Islamic State militia has also emerged as a key adversary of the United States.
The Afghan conflict refers to the series of events that have kept Afghanistan in a near-continuous state of armed conflict since the 1970s. Early instability followed the collapse of the Kingdom of Afghanistan in the largely non-violent 1973 coup d'état, which deposed Afghan monarch Mohammad Zahir Shah in absentia, ending his 40-year-long reign. With the concurrent establishment of the Republic of Afghanistan, headed by Mohammad Daoud Khan, the country's relatively peaceful and stable period in modern history came to an end. However, all-out fighting did not erupt until after 1978, when the Saur Revolution violently overthrew Khan's government and established the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Subsequent unrest over the radical reforms that were being pushed by the then-ruling People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) led to unprecedented violence, prompting a large-scale pro-PDPA military intervention by the Soviet Union in 1979. In the ensuing Soviet–Afghan War, the anti-Soviet Afghan mujahideen received extensive support from Pakistan, the United States, and Saudi Arabia in a joint covert effort that was dubbed Operation Cyclone.
Human rights abuses in the province ofBalochistan refers to the human rights violations that are occurring in the ongoing insurgency in Balochistan. The situation has drawn concern from the international community, The human rights situation in Balochistan is credited to the long-running conflict between Baloch nationalists and Pakistani security forces.
The 20-year-long War in Afghanistan had a number of significant impacts on Afghan society.
Thus ended for a time one of the bloodiest wars in history. During the two years and more the loss of life was frightful; nothing remains upon which to base a reliable estimate, but the War Monument at Kiuto, and the accounts of such battles as Kyong-chu, Choung-chu, Haing chu, the Im Chiu River, Pyongyang, Yenan, the massacre at Söul, Ulsan and Chiu-chu, and fifty other engagements would make a million lives a conservative estimate.
We have already lost seven millions of money and thirty thousand men in the Spanish war and all the fruit of all this blood and treasure is the glory of having Admiral Vernon's head on alehouse signs!
Within the first three decades, the French military massacred between half a million to one million from approximately three million Algerian people.
In Algeria, colonization and genocidal massacres proceeded in tandem. From 1830 to 1847, its European settler population quadrupled to 104,000. Of the native Algerian population of approximately 3 million in 1830, about 500,000 to 1 million perished in the first three decades of French conquest.
With reinforcements and guidance from the Dominicans, the rebels defeated Spanish detachments, cut railway lines, and gained dominance over vast sections of the eastern portion of the island.
From 1955 to 2002, data from the surveys indicated an estimated 5.4 million violent war deaths ... 3.8 million in Vietnam.
Estimates of total casualties range from 1,000,000 to twice that number. The number killed on both sides was perhaps 500,000, with Iran suffering the greatest losses.