The Human Cost
28,792
disputed broad estimate
The 28,792 display total is a disputed estimate. Iraqi military deaths vary by an order of magnitude in published accounts, civilian deaths are undercounted or differently scoped, and event records overlap with campaign totals.
Each dot below represents 1,000 human lives. Scroll to watch the scale unfold.
Working allocation: 25,292 soldiers killed in combat, from wounds, or from disease. Each = 1,000 lives.
3,500 civilians killed — from violence, famine, disease, and displacement. Wars are not fought only by soldiers.
incl. 2,500 civilians
incl. 600 civilians
incl. 200 civilians
incl. 172 civilians
How Gulf War's dead compare to other conflicts and events.
292 dead
The Gulf War produced fewer US combat deaths (148) in 43 days than the peacetime US military loses in accidents in a typical six-week period.
1,000 dead
Iraq's military casualties are among the most disputed numbers in recent military history — official Iraqi records were destroyed, and estimates by credible analysts range from 8,000 to 100,000 dead.
10,000 dead
The single deadliest day for coalition forces was February 25, 1991, when an Iraqi SCUD missile struck a barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 28 US Army Reserve soldiers — more Americans than any ground engagement of the war.
25,000 dead
Roughly 30% of US combat deaths were caused by friendly fire — a consequence of the speed and confusion of the ground war, and a driver of subsequent investment in identification technology.
30,000 dead
An estimated 400,000 Iraqi soldiers deserted during or before the ground campaign — a major factor in the coalition's rapid success.