List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll
Wars and armed conflicts with highest estimated death tolls of 100,000 or more

List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll

Section Title: Wars and armed conflicts with highest estimated death tolls of 100,000 or more
Table Section Text: None

Event	Lowest estimate	Highest estimate	Geometric mean estimate	Location	From	Until	Duration	Notes, see also

World War II	60,000,000	118,357,000	84,269,920	Worldwide	1939	1945	6 years and 1 day	See also: World War II casualties.

Three Kingdoms	36,000,000	40,000,000	37,947,332	China	184	280	96 years	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.

Mongol conquests	30,000,000[unreliable source?]	40,000,000	34,641,016	Eurasia	1206	1368	163 years	See also: Mongol Empire, Destruction under the Mongol Empire

European colonization of the Americas	8,400,000	138,000,000	34,047,026	Americas	1492	1691	199 years	Death toll estimates vary due to lack of consensus as to the demographic size of the native population pre-Columbus, which might never be accurately determined.

Taiping Rebellion	10,000,000	100,000,000	31,622,777	China	1851	1864	14 years	See also: Qing dynasty

Transition from Ming to Qing	25,000,000	25,000,000	25,000,000	China	1618	1683	65 years	See also: Qing dynasty

Second Sino-Japanese War	20,000,000	25,000,000	22,360,680	China	1937	1945	8 years	– Part of World War II

An Lushan Rebellion	13,000,000	36,000,000	21,633,308	China	755	763	8 years	Also known as the An–Shi rebellion

World War I	8,545,800	65,000,000	23,568,559	Worldwide	1914	1918	4 years, 3 months, 1 week

Conquests of Timur	8,000,000[unreliable source?][unreliable source?]	17,000,000	12,649,111	Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia	1370	1405	35 years	Up to 5% of the world's population at the time.

Dungan Revolt	8,000,000	12,000,000	9,797,959	Qing dynasty	1862	1877	15 years	See also: Qing dynasty

Chinese Civil War	8,000,000	11,692,000	9,671,401	China	1927	1949	22 years

Reconquista	7,000,000	7,000,000	7,000,000	Iberian Peninsula	711	1492	781 years	Note: cannot be considered a single war

Russian Civil War	5,000,000	9,000,000	6,708,204	Russia	1917	1921	5 years	See also: Russian Revolution, List of civil wars

Thirty Years' War	3,000,000	11,500,000[unreliable source?]	5,673,870	Holy Roman Empire, Europe	1618	1648	30 years	Initially a religious war between Catholics and Protestants, it became a general European political war. It was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history.

Mughal–Maratha Wars	5,600,000	5,600,000	5,600,000	India	1680	1707	27 years

Napoleonic Wars	3,500,000	7,000,000	4,949,747	Europe, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean	1803	1815	13 years	See also: Napoleonic Wars casualties

Yellow Turban Rebellion	3,000,000	7,000,000	4,582,576	China	184	205	22 years	– Part of the Three Kingdoms War

Second Congo War	2,500,000	5,400,000	3,674,235	Democratic Republic of the Congo	1998	2003	6 years

French Wars of Religion	2,000,000	4,000,000[unreliable source?]	2,828,427	France	1562	1598	37 years	Largely a religious war between Catholics and Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants)

Indian Rebellion of 1857	800,000	10,000,000	2,828,427	India	1857	1858	1 year

Hundred Years' War	2,300,000	3,300,000	2,754,995	Western Europe	1337	1453	116 years	Edwardian War (1337–1360), Caroline War (1369–1389), Lancastrian War (1415–1453)

Vietnam War	966,000	3,800,000	2,383,000	Southeast Asia	1955	1975	21 years	Cold War and First Indochina War

Crusades	1,000,000[unreliable source?]	3,000,000[unreliable source?]	2,000,000	Holy Land, Europe	1095	1291	196 years	Christian military excursions in the Middle East.

Nigerian Civil War	1,000,000	3,000,000	2,000,000	Nigeria	1966	1970	4 years	Ethnic cleansings of the Igbo people followed by Civil War.

Mfecane	1,500,000	2,000,000	1,750,000	Southern Africa	1816	1828	13 years	Ndwandwe–Zulu War

Punic Wars	1,250,000	1,850,000	1,520,691	Medi­terranean	264 BC	146 BC	118 years	See also: Carthage, Roman Republic

Second Sudanese Civil War	1,000,000	2,000,000	1,414,214	Sudan	1983	2005	23 years	First Sudanese Civil War

Qin's wars of unification	2,000,000	2,000,000	2,000,000	China	230 BC	221 BC	9 years	See also: History of China

Korean War	1,200,000	1,200,000	1,200,000	Korean Peninsula	1950	1953	4 years	Categorized as part of the Cold War.

Seven Years' War	868,000	1,400,000	1,102,361	Worldwide	1756	1763	7 years

Soviet–Afghan War	600,000[unreliable source?]	2,000,000[unreliable source?]	1,095,445	Afghanistan	1980	1988	9 years	Sometimes categorized as a proxy war during the Cold War. – Part of the War in Afghanistan

Japanese invasions of Korea	1,000,000	1,000,000	1,000,000	Korea	1592	1598	7 years

French Revolutionary Wars	1,000,000	1,000,000	1,000,000	Worldwide	1792	1802	10 years

Mexican Revolution	500,000	2,000,000	1,000,000	Mexico, United States	1911	1920	10 years	Includes Pancho Villa's raids and the Columbus Raid.

Italian conquest of the Horn of Africa	1,000,000	1,000,000	1,000,000	Horn of Africa	1924	1940	16 years

Panthay Rebellion	890,000	1,000,000	943,398	China	1856	1873	18 years

Wars of the Three Kingdoms	876,000	876,000	876,000	British Isles	1639	1651	12 years

Conquests of Mehmed the Conqueror	873,000	873,000	873,000	Eastern Europe	1451	1481	30 years

Ethiopian Civil War	500,000	1,500,000	866,025	Ethiopia	1974	1991	17 years

Jewish–Roman wars	350,000	2,000,000	836,660	Roman Empire	66	136	70 years	See also: Roman Empire

American Civil War	650,000	1,000,000	800,000	South­eastern United States and Pennsylvania	1861	1865	4 years	See also: United States

Algerian War	350,000	1,500,000	724,569	Algeria	1954	1962	7 years, 4 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days

War of the Spanish Succession	400,000	1,251,000	707,389	Europe, North America, South America	1702	1714	12 years

Spanish Civil War	500,000	1,000,000	707,107	Spain	1936	1939	4 years

Eighty Years' War	230,000	2,000,000	678,233	The Low Countries, South America, Caribbean Sea, East and Southeast Asia	1568	1648	80 years

Gallic Wars	400,000	1,000,000	632,445	France	58 BC	50 BC	9 years	See also: Roman Empire

Spanish American wars of independence	600,000	600,000	600,000	Americas	1808	1833	25 years

Paraguayan War	300,000	1,200,000	600,000	Southern Cone	1864	1870	7 years	Military history of South America, Francisco Solano López and Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias

Iran–Iraq War	289,220	1,100,000	564,041	Iran–Iraq border	1980	1988	8 years	Iran claims: 123,220 KIA + 11,000 civilians Iraq claims: 105,000 KIA + 50,000 in Kurdish Genocide Others claim 600,000 Iranians killed and 500,000 Iraqis

French invasion of Russia	540,000	540,000	540,000	Russia	1812	1812	5 months, 2 weeks and 6 days	– Part of the Napoleonic Wars

English Civil War	356,000	735,000	511,527	England	1642	1651	9 years	– Part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms

Angolan Civil War	504,158	504,158	504,158	Angola	1975	2002	27 years

First Sudanese Civil War	500,000	500,000	500,000	Sudan	1955	1972	17 years

War on Terror	480,000	507,000	493,500	Worldwide	2001	Present	18 years	Includes Iraq War, War in Afghanistan (2001–present), and War in North-West Pakistan.

Syrian Civil War	470,000	560,000	515,000	Syria	2011	Present	7 years

Albigensian Crusade	200,000	1,000,000	447,214	Southern France	1208	1229	21 years

First Congo War	250,000	800,000	447,214	Zaire	1996	1997	1 year

Maratha invasions of Bengal	400,000	400,000	400,000	India	1741	1751	10 years

First Indochina War	400,000	400,000	400,000	Southeast Asia	1946	1954	8 years	Also known as the Indochina War

Continuation War	387,333	387,333	387,333	Northern Europe	1941	1944	3 years	– Part of World War II

Somali Civil War	300,000	500,000	387,298	Somalia	1986	Present	32 years

Crimean War	356,000	410,000	382,047	Crimea	1853	1856	3 years

Iraq War	268,000	461,000	364,500	Iraq	2003	2011	8 years	See also: Casualties of the Iraq War – Part of the War on Terror

Cuban War of Independence	362,000	362,000	362,000	Cuba	1895	1898	3 years

Great Northern War	350,000	350,000	350,000	Northern and Eastern Europe	1700	1721	21 years

Italian Wars	300,000	400,000	346,410	Southern Europe	1494	1559	65 years	Also known as the Great Wars of Italy

French conquest of Algeria	300,000	300,000	300,000	Algeria	1829	1847	18 years

Burundian Civil War	300,000	300,000	300,000	Burundi	1993	2005	12 years

War in Darfur	178,258	461,520	286,827	Sudan	2003	Present	15 years

Bangladesh Liberation War	26,000	3,000,000	279,285	East Pakistan	1971	1971	1 year	See also: Bangladeshi Genocide casualties

Second Italo-Ethiopian War	278,350	278,350	278,350	Ethiopia	1935	1936	1 year	Also known as the Second Italo–Abyssinian War

Papua conflict	150,000	400,000	244,949	New Guinea	1963	Present	55 years

Ten Years' War	241,000	241,000	241,000	Cuba	1868	1878	10 years	Also known as the Great War

Philippine–American War	234,000	234,000	234,000	Philippines	1899	1912	13 years	Also known as the Philippine War

Venezuelan War of Independence	228,000	228,000	228,000	Venezuela	1810	1823	13 years	– Part of the Spanish American Wars of Independence

Ugandan Bush War	100,000	500,000	223,607	Uganda	1981	1986	5 years	Also known as the Luwero War

Lord's Resistance Army insurgency	100,000	500,000	223,607	Central Africa	1987	Present	31 years

Franco-Dutch War	220,000	220,000	220,000	Western Europe	1672	1678	6 years	Also known as the Dutch War

Colombian conflict	220,000	220,000	220,000	Colombia	1964	Present	54 years

Iraqi-Kurdish conflict	138,800	320,100	210,784	Iraq	1918	2003	85 years

Campaigns of Suleiman the Magnificent	200,000	200,000	200,000	Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa	1521	1566	25 years

Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)	200,000	200,000	200,000	Western Europe	1635	1659	24 years

Carlist Wars	200,000	200,000	200,000	Spain	1820	1876	56 years

La Violencia	192,700	194,700	193,697	Colombia	1948	1958	10 years

Internal conflict in Myanmar	130,000	250,000	180,278	Myanmar	1948	Present	70 years

Kalinga War	150,000	200,000	173,205	India	262 BC	261 BC	2 years

Winter War	153,736	194,837	173,071	Finland	1939	1940	1 year	– Part of World War II

Greek Civil War	158,000	158,000	158,000	Greece	1946	1949	3 years

North Yemen Civil War	100,000	200,000	141,421	Yemen	1962	1970	8 years

1991 Iraqi uprisings in Iraq	85,000	235,000	141,333	Iraq	1991	1991	1 month and 4 days

Balkan Wars	140,000	140,000	140,000	Balkans	1912	1913	1 year

Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)	138,285	138,285	138,285	Europe and Americas	1585	1604	19 years

Saint-Domingue Expedition	135,000	135,000	135,000	Haiti	1802	1803	1 year

Yugoslav Wars	130,000	140,000	134,907	Balkans	1991	2001	10 years

Lebanese Civil War	120,000	150,000	134,164	Lebanon	1975	1990	15 years

Sierra Leone Civil War	50,000	300,000	122,474	Sierra Leone	1991	2002	11 years

Great Turkish War	120,000	120,000	120,000	Eastern Europe	1683	1699	16 years	Also known as the War of the Holy League

Thousand Days War	120,000	120,000	120,000	Colombia	1899	1902	3 years

Moro conflict	120,000	120,000	120,000	Philippines	1969	Present	49 years

Arab–Israeli conflict	116,074	116,074	116,074	Middle East	1948	Present	70 years

Mexican Drug War	106,800	106,800	106,800	Mexico	2006	Present	12 years	Also known as the Mexican War on Drugs

Aceh War	97,000	107,000	101,877	Indonesia	1873	1914	41 years	Also known as the Infidel War

Bosnian War	97,214	104,732	100,903	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1991	1995	4 years	– Part of the Yugoslav Wars

German Peasants' War	100,000	100,000	100,000	Germany	1524	1525	1 year	Also known as the Great Peasants' War

Kurdish rebellions in Turkey	100,000	100,000	100,000	Middle East	1921	Present	97 years

Congo Crisis	100,000	100,000	100,000	Republic of the Congo	1960	1965	5 years

Insurgency in Laos	100,000	100,000	100,000	Laos	1975	2007	32 years

Kivu Conflict	100,000	100,000	100,000	Democratic Republic of the Congo	2004	Present	14 years	– Part of the Second Congo War

Kashmir Conflict	80,000	110,000	93,808	North India, Pakistan	1947	Present	71 years

Algerian Civil War	44,000	200,000	93,808	Algeria	1991	2002	11 years

Angolan War of Independence	82,991	102,991	92,452	Angola	1961	1974	13 years

Sri Lankan Civil War	80,000	100,000	89,443	Sri Lanka	1983	2009	26 years

Indian annexation of Hyderabad	29,212	242,212	84,116	India	1948	1948	5 days	Also known as Operation Polo

Sentence(s)

An Lushan Rebellion is one of the wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll.

final_sentence: An Lushan Rebellion is one of the wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll.