The Human Cost
Mexican Revolution
1,250,000
estimated total dead
Each dot below represents 1,000 human lives. Scroll to watch the scale unfold.
Military Dead
350,000 soldiers killed in combat, from wounds, or from disease. Each = 1,000 lives.
Constitutionalists (Carranza / Obregón) — 100,000 military dead Federal Forces, Villistas, Zapatistas & Civilians — 250,000 military dead Civilian Dead
900,000 civilians killed — from violence, famine, disease, and displacement. Wars are not fought only by soldiers.
Deadliest Engagements
Battle of Celaya (1915)16,000
incl. 1,000 civilians
Battle of Zacatecas (1914)9,500
incl. 500 civilians
Decena Trágica — Mexico City (1913)5,000
incl. 3,000 civilians
Battle of Torreón + Massacre of Chinese (1913)2,900
incl. 400 civilians
Battle of Ciudad Juárez (1911)700
incl. 100 civilians
Punitive Expedition (1916–1917)600
incl. 200 civilians
Raid on Columbus, New Mexico (1916)200
incl. 50 civilians
For Perspective
How Mexican Revolution's dead compare to other conflicts and events.
Mexican Revolution — total dead1,250,000
Mexican Revolution total dead1,250,000
World War I (all sides)17,000,000
1918 Influenza in Mexico alone400,000
Mexico population decline 1910–1921700,000
Milestones of Loss
18,000 dead
Americans killed in the entire Vietnam War
100,000 dead
Conservative low-end estimate for military dead
350,000 dead
Median estimate for military deaths across all factions
900,000 dead
Estimated civilian deaths from fighting, famine and disease
1,250,000 dead
Total estimated deaths — Mexico's population actually shrank during the Revolution
All figures are historical estimates and vary across sources. The true human cost of war is impossible to fully quantify — these numbers represent the best scholarly consensus. Each number was a person with a name, a family, and a life unlived.