🗺️WarExplorer/Deadliest Wars

By the Numbers

Deadliest Wars in History

Every major conflict ranked by total deaths — military and civilian combined — from antiquity to the present day.

1
✈️

World War II

1939 – 1945 · 21 battles · 69% civilian

80,000,000

25,000,000 mil · 55,000,000 civ

2

The Mongol Conquests

1206 – 1368 · 8 battles · 86% civilian

35,000,000

5,000,000 mil · 30,000,000 civ

3
🐉

The Fall of the Ming Dynasty

1618 – 1683 · 11 battles · 84% civilian

25,000,000

4,000,000 mil · 21,000,000 civ

4

The Taiping Rebellion

1850 – 1864 · 7 battles · 84% civilian

25,000,000

4,000,000 mil · 21,000,000 civ

5
☢️

The Cold War

1947 – 1991 · 14 battles · 32% civilian

22,000,000

15,000,000 mil · 7,000,000 civ

6

Second Sino-Japanese War

1937 – 1945 · 11 battles · 80% civilian

21,255,700

4,255,700 mil · 17,000,000 civ

7
🪖

The Great War

1914 – 1918 · 15 battles · 51% civilian

19,700,000

9,700,000 mil · 10,000,000 civ

8
🐎

Timur's Conquests

1370 – 1405 · 10 battles · 82% civilian

17,000,000

3,000,000 mil · 14,000,000 civ

9
🐉

The An Lushan Rebellion

755 – 763 AD · 11 battles · 94% civilian

12,750,000

750,000 mil · 12,000,000 civ

10

Russian Civil War

1917 – 1922 · 12 battles · 81% civilian

10,500,000

2,000,000 mil · 8,500,000 civ

11
🐉

The Three Kingdoms of China

184 – 280 · 12 battles · 76% civilian

10,000,000

2,400,000 mil · 7,600,000 civ

12
⚔️

The Spanish Conquest of the Americas

1519 – 1533 · 15 battles · 99% civilian

8,061,000

61,000 mil · 8,000,000 civ

13
⚔️

Thirty Years' War

1618–1648 · 11 battles · 94% civilian

7,450,000

450,000 mil · 7,000,000 civ

14
👑

The Napoleonic Wars

1803 – 1815 · 14 battles · 46% civilian

6,500,000

3,500,000 mil · 3,000,000 civ

15
🌿

The Vietnam War

1955 – 1975 · 8 battles · 56% civilian

3,600,000

1,600,000 mil · 2,000,000 civ

16
⚔️

The Warring States & the Unification of China

475 – 221 BC · 13 battles · 43% civilian

3,500,000

2,000,000 mil · 1,500,000 civ

17
🪖

The Korean War

1950 – 1953 · 11 battles · 63% civilian

3,200,000

1,200,000 mil · 2,000,000 civ

18
⚔️

Hundred Years' War

1337–1453 · 11 battles · 89% civilian

2,800,000

300,000 mil · 2,500,000 civ

19
🏰

The Seven Years' War

1756 – 1763 · 8 battles · 42% civilian

2,400,000

1,400,000 mil · 1,000,000 civ

20
🌍

Nigerian Civil War

1967 – 1970 · 12 battles · 95% civilian

2,000,000

100,000 mil · 1,900,000 civ

21
💀

Cambodian Genocide / Khmer Rouge

1975 – 1979 · 10 battles · 85% civilian

2,000,000

300,000 mil · 1,700,000 civ

22
⚔️

The Crisis of the Third Century

235 – 284 AD · 12 battles · 86% civilian

1,750,000

250,000 mil · 1,500,000 civ

23
⚔️

War of the Spanish Succession

1701–1714 · 11 battles · 75% civilian

1,600,000

400,000 mil · 1,200,000 civ

24

The Crusades

1095 – 1291 · 8 battles · 53% civilian

1,500,000

700,000 mil · 800,000 civ

25

The Jewish-Roman Wars

66 – 136 AD · 8 battles · 46% civilian

1,300,000

700,000 mil · 600,000 civ

26
🐢

The Imjin War

1592 – 1598 · 15 battles · 79% civilian

1,260,000

260,000 mil · 1,000,000 civ

27
🔴

The French Revolutionary Wars

1792–1802 · 11 battles · 28% civilian

1,250,000

900,000 mil · 350,000 civ

28

Mexican Revolution

1910 – 1920 · 12 battles · 72% civilian

1,250,000

350,000 mil · 900,000 civ

29
⚔️

War of the Austrian Succession

1740–1748 · 11 battles · 67% civilian

1,200,000

400,000 mil · 800,000 civ

30
🏔️

Soviet-Afghan War

1979–1989 · 10 battles · 97% civilian

1,035,000

35,000 mil · 1,000,000 civ

31
🦅

Caesar's Gallic Wars

58–50 BC · 12 battles · 57% civilian

1,000,000

425,000 mil · 575,000 civ

32

The Indian Rebellion of 1857

1857 – 1858 · 6 battles · 89% civilian

898,000

96,000 mil · 802,000 civ

33
🕯️

Rwandan Genocide

1994 · 10 battles · 94% civilian

800,000

50,000 mil · 750,000 civ

34
⚔️

The American Civil War

1861 – 1865 · 21 battles · 7% civilian

670,000

620,000 mil · 50,000 civ

35
🐘

The Punic Wars

264–146 BC · 10 battles · 31% civilian

650,000

450,000 mil · 200,000 civ

36
🦁

The Eighty Years' War

1568 – 1648 · 16 battles · 33% civilian

600,000

400,000 mil · 200,000 civ

37

The Fall of the Western Roman Empire

376 – 476 AD · 8 battles · 58% civilian

600,000

250,000 mil · 350,000 civ

38
💀

Iran-Iraq War

1980 – 1988 · 11 battles · 17% civilian

600,000

500,000 mil · 100,000 civ

39
☪️

The Early Islamic Conquests

632 – 750 AD · 12 battles · 33% civilian

600,000

400,000 mil · 200,000 civ

40
🇺🇦

Russia-Ukraine War

2014 – Present · 21 battles · 4% civilian

570,000

550,000 mil · 20,000 civ

41

Spanish Civil War

1936–1939 · 11 battles · 33% civilian

525,000

350,000 mil · 175,000 civ

42
🏛️

The Wars of Justinian

533 – 554 AD · 10 battles · 77% civilian

520,000

120,000 mil · 400,000 civ

43
🕌

Syrian Civil War

2011 – 2024 · 19 battles · 60% civilian

504,118

202,157 mil · 301,961 civ

44
🌍

The Angolan Civil War

1975 – 2002 · 9 battles · 68% civilian

500,000

160,000 mil · 340,000 civ

45
☦️

The Last Byzantine–Sasanian War

602 – 628 AD · 9 battles · 60% civilian

500,000

200,000 mil · 300,000 civ

46

The Crimean War

1853 – 1856 · 12 battles · 20% civilian

500,000

400,000 mil · 100,000 civ

47

Algerian War of Independence

1954 – 1962 · 11 battles · 63% civilian

478,600

175,600 mil · 303,000 civ

48

The Spanish-American War

1898 · 11 battles · 86% civilian

463,289

63,289 mil · 400,000 civ

49
🏛️

The Roman Civil Wars

49–31 BC · 12 battles · 33% civilian

460,000

310,000 mil · 150,000 civ

50
☦️

The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78

1877 – 1878 · 12 battles · 44% civilian

450,000

250,000 mil · 200,000 civ

51
🗡️

The Macedonian Conquests

336–323 BC · 12 battles · 30% civilian

400,000

280,000 mil · 120,000 civ

52
🕌

The Great Turkish War

1683 – 1699 · 10 battles · 38% civilian

400,000

250,000 mil · 150,000 civ

53

The Viking Age

793–1066 · 12 battles · 63% civilian

400,000

150,000 mil · 250,000 civ

54
🏛️

The Persian Wars

499–449 BC · 10 battles · 14% civilian

350,000

300,000 mil · 50,000 civ

55

The Balkan Wars

1912 – 1913 · 11 battles · 38% civilian

300,000

185,000 mil · 115,000 civ

56
🛡️

The Italian Wars

1494 – 1559 · 13 battles · 33% civilian

300,000

200,000 mil · 100,000 civ

57
🌍

Sudan Civil War

2023 – Present · 13 battles · 81% civilian

265,000

50,000 mil · 215,000 civ

58
🪖

Iraq War

2003 – 2011 · 10 battles · 73% civilian

255,000

70,000 mil · 185,000 civ

59
⚔️

The Peloponnesian War

431–404 BC · 10 battles · 29% civilian

255,000

180,000 mil · 75,000 civ

60
👑

Charlemagne's Campaigns

768 – 814 AD · 10 battles · 60% civilian

250,000

100,000 mil · 150,000 civ

61
🏯

Sengoku Japan: The Unification

1560 – 1615 · 15 battles · 12% civilian

250,000

220,000 mil · 30,000 civ

62

The Franco-Prussian War

1870 – 1871 · 9 battles · 24% civilian

239,000

182,000 mil · 57,000 civ

63
🔥

Haitian Revolution

1791 – 1804 · 11 battles · 24% civilian

229,000

175,000 mil · 54,000 civ

64
☀️

The Philippine-American War

1899 – 1902 · 14 battles · 89% civilian

224,200

24,200 mil · 200,000 civ

65
🌲

The French and Indian War

1754 – 1763 · 8 battles · 30% civilian

200,000

140,000 mil · 60,000 civ

66
⚔️

English Civil War

1642–1651 · 11 battles · 54% civilian

185,000

85,000 mil · 100,000 civ

67
🐺

The Chechen Wars

1994 – 2009 · 11 battles · 57% civilian

175,000

75,000 mil · 100,000 civ

68
🏔️

War in Afghanistan

2001 – 2021 · 12 battles · 29% civilian

164,000

117,000 mil · 47,000 civ

69

The Russo-Japanese War

1904 – 1905 · 11 battles · 13% civilian

160,000

140,000 mil · 20,000 civ

70

Finnish Winter War

1939 – 1940 · 11 battles · 1% civilian

151,957

151,000 mil · 957 civ

71

Lebanese Civil War

1975 – 1990 · 12 battles · 63% civilian

150,000

55,000 mil · 95,000 civ

72
🕊️

The Yugoslav Wars

1991 – 2001 · 11 battles · 56% civilian

140,000

62,000 mil · 78,000 civ

73

The Norman Conquest of England

1066 – 1071 · 7 battles · 78% civilian

135,000

30,000 mil · 105,000 civ

74
🥊

The Boxer Rebellion

1899 – 1901 · 10 battles · 80% civilian

125,000

25,000 mil · 100,000 civ

75
🏜️

The Mahdist War

1881 – 1899 · 11 battles · 18% civilian

110,000

90,000 mil · 20,000 civ

76
🦅

The American Indian Wars

1860s – 1890 · 11 battles · 49% civilian

103,000

53,000 mil · 50,000 civ

77
🌍

The Congo Crisis

1960 – 1965 · 10 battles · 60% civilian

100,000

40,000 mil · 60,000 civ

78

The Boer Wars

1880 – 1902 · 12 battles · 62% civilian

77,000

29,000 mil · 48,000 civ

79
🕊️

Israel-Hamas War

2023 – Present · 17 battles · 99% civilian

75,300

900 mil · 74,400 civ

80
🔔

The American Revolution

1775 – 1783 · 14 battles · 33% civilian

75,000

50,000 mil · 25,000 civ

81
🏴

The Wars of Scottish Independence

1296 – 1357 · 13 battles · 27% civilian

75,000

55,000 mil · 20,000 civ

82

The War of the Pacific

1879 – 1884 · 11 battles · 21% civilian

70,000

55,000 mil · 15,000 civ

83
⚔️

Wars of the Roses

1455–1487 · 11 battles · 17% civilian

60,000

50,000 mil · 10,000 civ

84
🪓

The Germanic Wars

12 BC–16 AD · 11 battles · 27% civilian

55,000

40,000 mil · 15,000 civ

85
🦅

The Mexican-American War

1846 – 1848 · 11 battles · 46% civilian

54,283

29,283 mil · 25,000 civ

86
🌅

Libyan Civil War

2011 – 2020 · 14 battles · 37% civilian

40,020

25,020 mil · 15,000 civ

87
🕌

The Fall of Constantinople

1453 · 10 battles · 29% civilian

35,000

25,000 mil · 10,000 civ

88
🛢️

The Gulf War

1990 – 1991 · 11 battles · 12% civilian

28,792

25,292 mil · 3,500 civ

89

The Opium Wars

1839–1860 · 13 battles · 13% civilian

23,000

20,000 mil · 3,000 civ

90

The War of 1812

1812 – 1815 · 11 battles · 13% civilian

23,000

20,000 mil · 3,000 civ

91

Six-Day War

1967 · 10 battles · 5% civilian

22,000

21,000 mil · 1,000 civ

92
✡️

Arab-Israeli War

1948 – 1949 · 11 battles · 23% civilian

21,273

16,373 mil · 4,900 civ

93
🕯️

Yom Kippur War

1973 · 11 battles · 8% civilian

15,200

14,000 mil · 1,200 civ

94

The Anglo-Zulu War

1879 · 5 battles · 20% civilian

14,700

11,700 mil · 3,000 civ

95
⚔️

Indo-Pakistani Wars: 1965 and Kargil

1965 – 1999 · 11 battles · 23% civilian

13,000

10,000 mil · 3,000 civ

96
💥

US–Iran Conflict

2025 – Present · 13 battles · 47% civilian

7,845

4,130 mil · 3,715 civ

97
🚢

Suez Crisis

1956 · 10 battles · 23% civilian

4,404

3,404 mil · 1,000 civ

98
☘️

The Troubles

1968 – 1998 · 12 battles · 58% civilian

3,600

1,500 mil · 2,100 civ

99

The Falklands War

1982 · 10 battles · 0% civilian

907

904 mil · 3 civ