# List of wars by death toll

This list of wars by death toll includes all deaths directly or indirectly caused by the deadliest wars in history. These numbers encompass the deaths of military personnel resulting directly from battles or other wartime actions, as well as wartime or war-related civilian deaths, often caused by war-induced epidemics, famines, or genocides. Due to incomplete records, the destruction of evidence, differing counting methods, and various other factors, the death tolls of wars are often uncertain and highly debated. For this reason, the death tolls in this article typically provide a range of estimates.
Compiling such a list is further complicated by the challenge of defining a war. Not every violent conflict constitutes a war; for example, mass killings and genocides occurring outside of wartime are excluded, as they are not necessarily wars in themselves. This list broadly defines war as an extended conflict between two or more armed political groups. Consequently, it excludes mass death events such as human sacrifices, ethnic cleansing operations, and acts of state terrorism or political repression during peacetime or in contexts unrelated to war.

## List

| War | Death range | Date | Combatants | Location |
| World War II | 70–85 million | 1939–1945 | Allied Powers vs. Axis Powers | Global |
| Mongol invasions and conquests | 20–60 million | 1206–1368 | Mongol Empire vs. various states in Eurasia | Asia and Europe |
| Three Kingdoms | 34 million | 220–280 | Multiple sides | China |
| Taiping Rebellion | 20–30 million | 1850–1864 | Qing Dynasty vs. Taiping Heavenly Kingdom | China |
| Manchu Conquest of China | 25 million | 1618–1683 | Manchu vs. Ming Dynasty | China |
| World War I | 15–22 million | 1914–1918 | Allied Powers vs. Central Powers | Global |
| Conquests of Timur | 7–20 million | 1369–1405 | Timurid Empire vs. various states in Asia | Central Asia, West Asia, and South Asia |
| An Lushan rebellion | 13 million | 754–763 | Tang Dynasty and Uyghur Khaganate vs. Yan Dynasty | China |
| Spanish conquest of Mexico | 10.5 million | 1519–1530 | Spanish Empire and allies vs. Aztec Empire and allies | Mexico |
| Russian Civil War | 7–10 million | 1917–1922 | Multiple sides; Bolsheviks, Anti-Bolshevik left, White Movement, Allied and Central Intervention, as well as various separatists | Russia |
| Chinese Civil War | 4–9 million | 1927–1949 | Multiple sides; but predominantly Communists vs. Kuomintang | China |
| Crusades | 1–9 million | 1095–1291 | Originally Byzantine Empire vs. Seljuk Empire, but evolved into Christians vs. Muslims | Europe and the Middle East |
| Thirty Years' War | 4.5–8 million | 1618–1648 | Anti-Imperial Alliance vs. Imperial Alliance | Europe |
| Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire | 7.7 million | 1533–1572 | Spanish Empire vs. Inca Empire | South America |
| Reconquista | 7 million | 718–1492 | Christian peninsular kingdoms vs. Muslim peninsular kingdoms | Iberian Peninsula |
| French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars | 4–7 million | 1792–1815 | French Republic, later French Empire, vs. Coalition forces | Europe |
| Conquests of Menelik II | 6 million | 1878–1904 | Ethiopian Empire vs. Emirate of Harar, Kingdom of Kaffa, Kingdom of Wolaita, and allies | Horn of Africa |
| Second Congo War | 3–5.4 million | 1998–2003 | Multiple sides | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Spanish conquest of New Granada | 5.25 million | 1525–1540 | Spanish Empire and Klein-Venedig vs. Muisca Confederation and other civilizations | Colombia |
| Deccan wars | 4.6–5 million | 1680–1707 | Mughal Empire vs. Maratha Confederacy | Indian subcontinent |
| Northern Wars | 3.57–4.57 milion | 1554–1721 | Multiple sides | Eastern and Northern Europe |
| Vietnam War | 1.1–4.2 million | 1955–1975 | North Vietnam and allies vs. South Vietnam and allies | Indochina |
| Nigerian Civil War | 3.04–4.1 million | 1967–1970 | Nigeria vs. Biafra | Nigeria |
| French Wars of Religion | 2–4 million | 1562–1598 | French catholics vs Huguenots | France |
| Korean War | 2.5–3.5 million | 1950–1953 | North Korea and allies vs. South Korea and allies | Korean Peninsula |
| Hundred Years' War | 2.3–3.5 million | 1337–1453 | House of Valois vs. House of Plantagenet | Western Europe |
| Soviet–Afghan War | 1–3 million | 1979–1989 | Soviet Union and Democratic Republic of Afghanistan vs. Afghan mujahideen | Afghanistan |
| Delhi Conquest of North India | 0.5–3 million | 1300–1310 | Delhi Sultanate vs. North Indian States | Indian subcontinent |
| Bangladesh Liberation War | 0.3–3 million | 1971 | India and Provisional Government of Bangladesh vs. Pakistan | Indian subcontinent |
| Mexican Revolution | 1–2.7 million | 1910–1920 | Anti-government forces vs. Pro-government forces | Mexico |
| Fang La Rebellion | 2 million | 1120–1122 | Song Dynasty vs. Fang La rebels | China |
| Ethiopian Civil War and Eritrean War of Independence | 1.75–2 million | 1961–1991 | EPRDF, later EPLF, vs. Derg and People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | Horn of Africa |
| Russo-Circassian War and Caucasian War | 1.5–2 million | 1763–1864 | Circassian Confederation, Principality of Abkhazia, and Caucasian Imamate vs. Russian Empire | Caucasus |
| Second Sudanese Civil War | 1–2 million | 1983–2005 | Sudan vs. SSPDF | Sudan |
| Tây Sơn wars | 1–2 million | 1771–1802 | Tây Sơn dynasty vs. Nguyễn lords, Kingdom of Cambodia, Rattanakosin Kingdom, and Kingdom of France | Indochina |
| Akbar's Conquest of North India | 1–2 million | 1556–1605 | Mughal Empire vs. North Indian States | Indian subcontinent |
| Indian Rebellion of 1857 | 0.8–2 million | 1857–1858 | United Kingdom and allies vs. Indian rebels and allies | Indian subcontinent |
| Balkan Wars | 0.75–1.77 million | 1912–1913 | Ottoman Empire vs. Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro; later Bulgaria vs. Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, and Romania | Balkans |
| Algerian War | 0.4–1.6 million | 1954–1962 | France vs. Separatists National Liberation Front, Algerian National Movement, and Algerian Communist Party | North Africa |
| Seven Years' War | 1–1.5 million | 1756–1763 | Great Britain, Hanover, Prussia, Portugal, and allies vs. France, Habsburg empire, Saxony, Spain, and allies | Global |
| Warring States period and Qin's wars of unification | 0.65–1.5 million | 475 BCE–221 BCE | Multiple sides | China |
| French conquest of Algeria | 0.98–1.48 million | 1830–1903 | France vs. Regency of Algiers, Emirate of Abdelkader, Kingdom of Beni Abbas, and allies | North Africa |
| Gallic Wars | 0.7–1.47 million | 58 BCE–50 BCE | Roman Republic vs. Gauls and allies | Gaul |
| Jewish–Roman wars | 0.35–1.4 million | 66–135 | Roman Empire vs. Judean provisional government | Fertile Crescent |
| War of the Spanish Succession | 0.4–1.25 million | 1701–1714 | Habsburg Spain, Great Britain, Holy Roman Empire, and allies vs. Bourboun Spain, Kingdom of France, and allies | Global |
| Franco-Prussian War | 1.15 million | 1870–1871 | Second French Empire, later Third French Republic, vs. North German Confederation | Central Europe |
| Japanese invasions of Korea | 1 million | 1592–1598 | Joseon and Ming dynasty vs. Japan | Korean Peninsula |
| Panthay Rebellion | 1 million | 1856–1873 | Qing Dynasty vs. Pingnan Guo | China |
| American Civil War | 0.6–1 million | 1861–1865 | United States vs. Confederate States | North America |
| Mozambican Civil War | 0.5–1 million | 1977–1992 | People's Republic of Mozambique, later Republic of Mozambique, and allies vs. RENAMO and allies | Mozambique |
| First Sudanese Civil War | 0.5–1 million | 1955–1972 | Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, later Democratic Republic of the Sudan, vs. Sudan Defence Force | Sudan |
| Burmese–Siamese wars | 0.26–0.9 million | 1547–1855 | Thailand vs. Myanmar | Southeast Asia |
| First Indochina War | 0.4–0.84 million | 1946–1954 | Viet Minh, Pathet Lao, and Khmer Issarak vs. French Union | Indochina |
| Angolan Civil War | 0.8 million | 1975–2002 | People's Republic of Angola, later Republic of Angola, and allies vs. Democratic People's Republic of Angola and allies | Angola |
| Burundian Civil War | 0.55–0.8 million | 1993–2005 | Burundi vs. Ethnic Hutu vs. Tutsi Militants | Rwanda and Burundi |
| Second Punic War | 0.77 million | 218 BCE–201 BCE | Roman Republic vs. Ancient Carthage | Southern Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, and North Africa |
| War of Austrian Succession | 0.75 million | 1740–1748 | France, Prussia, Spain, and allies vs. Habsburg monarchy, Great Britain, Dutch Republic, and allies | Europe, Americas, and Indian subcontinent |
| Third Punic War | 0.75 million | 149 BCE–146 BCE | Roman Republic vs. Ancient Carthage | North Africa |
| Iran-Iraq War | 0.45–0.7 million | 1980–1988 | Islamic Republic of Iran vs. Iraqi Republic | Iran and Iraq |
| Nine Years' War | 0.68 million | 1688–1697 | Kingdom of France vs. Grand Alliance | Europe |
| Crimean War | 0.61–0.67 million | 1853–1856 | Russian Empire vs. Ottoman Empire, France and United Kingdom | Crimea, Black Sea, Caucasus and Balkans |
| Syrian civil war | 0.58–0.61 million | 2011–present | Multiple sides | Levant |
| Mexican War of Independence | 0.6 million | 1810–1821 | Mexican patriots vs. Spanish Empire | North and Central America |
| Bahmani–Vijayanagar Wars | 0.6 million | 1362–1443 | Vijayanagara Empire and Musunuri Nayakas vs. Bahmani Sultanate | Indian subcontinent |
| Turkish War of Independence | 0.4–0.6 million | 1919–1923 | Turkey vs. Greece, France, United Kingdom, and Armenia | Anatolia |
| Tigray War | 0.16–0.6 million | 2020–2022 | Ethiopia and Eritrea vs. Tigray People's Liberation Front and allies | Horn of Africa |
| Roman-Germanic wars | 0.54 million | 113 BCE–774 | Roman Republic, later Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire, vs. Germanic tribes | Germania |
| First Punic War | 0.4–0.54 million | 264 BCE–241 BCE | Roman Republic vs. Ancient Carthage | Southern Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, and North Africa |
| Paraguayan War | 0.15–0.5 million | 1864–1870 | Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay vs. Paraguay | South America |
| Uganda-Tanzania War and Ugandan Bush War | 0.1–0.5 million | 1978–1986 | Uganda vs. Tanzania, National Liberation Front, and National Resistance Movement | Uganda and Tanzania |
| Papua conflict | 0.1–0.5 million | 1962–present | Indonesia vs. Free Papua Movement | New Guinea |
| Eighty Years' War | 0.1–0.5 million | 1566–1648 | Spanish Empire vs. Separatist Dutch Republic | Low Countries |
| Spanish Civil War | 0.35–0.47 million | 1936–1939 | Nationalists vs. Republicans | Iberian Peninsula |
| Colombian conflict | 0.45 million | 1964–present | Colombia vs. Colombian and Mexican drug cartels and paramilitaries vs. FARC | Colombia |
| Polish–Ottoman Wars | 0.43 million | 1485–1699 | Poland-Lithuania, Holy League, and allies vs. Ottoman Empire and allies | Central Europe and Balkans |
| Roman–Greek wars | 0.42 million | 280 BCE–30 BCE | Roman Republic vs. Greek states, later Greek rebels, and Ptolemaic Kingdom | Peloponnese Peninsula, Balkans, Anatolia, Egypt and Roman Italy |
| Maratha invasions of Bengal | 0.4 million | 1741–1751 | Maratha Confederacy vs. Bengal Nawab | Indian subcontinent |
| Colombian War of Independence | 0.4 million | 1810–1825 | Colombian patriots vs. Spanish Empire | Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela |
| Third Indochina War | 0.4 million | 1975–1991 | Democratic Kampuchea, China, and Thailand vs. Vietnam, Laos, and People's Republic of Kampuchea vs. Communist Party of Thailand | Indochina |
| War in Darfur | 0.4 million | 2003–2020 | Sudan vs. SRF and SLM/A | Sudan |
| Mexican war on drugs | 0.35–0.4 million | 2006–present | Mexico vs drug cartels | Mexico |
| Song–Đại Việt war | 0.25–0.4 million | 1075–1077 | Song Dynasty vs. Đại Việt | Indochina |
| Cuban Wars of Independence and Spanish–American War | 0.39 million | 1868–1898 | United States, Cuban Revolutionaries, and Philippine Revolutionaries vs. Spanish Empire | Caribbean and the Philippines |
| South Sudanese Civil War | 0.38 million | 2013–2020 | South Sudan vs. SPLM-IO, Nuer White Army, and SSDM | South Sudan |
| Yemeni civil war | 0.15–0.37 million | 2014–present | Multiple sides | Yemen |
| War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) | 0.17–0.36 million | 2001–2021 | Taliban and allies vs. United States-led coalition and the Afghan Government | Afghanistan |
| Boko Haram insurgency | 0.03–0.35 million | 2009–present | Multinational Joint Task Force vs. Boko Haram | Nigeria |
| Franco-Dutch War | 0.34 million | 1672–1678 | Kingdom of France vs. Dutch Republic | Western Europe |
| Ottoman–Venetian wars | 0.34 million | 1415–1718 | Ottoman Empire vs. Holy League | Mediterranean Sea, Greece and Cyprus |
| Liberian Civil Wars and Sierra Leone Civil War | 0.3–0.32 million | 1989–2003 | Liberian government, Revolutionary United Front vs. National Patriotic Front of Liberia, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, Movement for Democracy in Liberia, Sierra Leone | West Africa |
| Cambodian Civil War | 0.27–0.31 million | 1967–1975 | Khmer Rouge and allies vs. Kingdom of Cambodia, later the Khmer Republic, and allies | Cambodia |
| Goguryeo–Sui War | 0.3 million | 598–614 | Sui Dynasty vs. Goguryeo | Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula |
| Carlist Wars | 0.3 million | 1833–1876 | Carlists vs. Liberals and Republicans | Iberian Peninsula |
| Iraqi conflict | 0.27–0.3 million | 2003–2017 | Multiple sides | Levant |
| Gulf War | 0.17–0.3 million | 1990–1991 | Kuwait and the United States-led coalition vs. Iraq | Kuwait and Iraq |
| Social War (91–87 BC) | 0.1–0.3 million | 91 BCE–87 BCE | Roman Republic and allies vs. Marsic and Samnite rebels, and allies | Roman Italy |
| Russian invasion of Ukraine | 0.16–0.29 million | 2022–present | Russia and North Korea vs. Ukraine | Eastern Europe and the Black Sea |
| Roman conquest of Britain | 0.13–0.29 million | 43–84 | Roman Empire vs. Celtic Britons | Great Britain |
| Philippine–American War | 0.21–0.28 million | 1899–1913 | United States vs. Philippine Republic, later Tagalog Republic, Sultanate of Sulu and Sultanate of Maguindanao | Philippines |
| Kalinga War | 0.25 million | 262 BCE–261 BCE | Maurya Empire vs. Kalinga | Indian subcontinent |
| First Congo War | 0.25 million | 1996–1997 | Zaire vs. AFDL | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Cristero War | 0.25 million | 1926–1929 | Mexico vs. Cristeros | Mexico |
| Greek War of Independence | 0.24 million | 1821–1829 | Ottoman Empire vs. Separatist First Hellenic Republic | Balkans and Peloponnese Peninsula |
| Myanmar conflict | 0.23 million | 1948–present | National Unity Government of Myanmar vs. State Administration Council | Myanmar |
| American Revolution | 0.18–0.23 million | 1775–1783 | American Patriots vs. Great Britain | North America |
| Chechen conflict | 0.08–0.23 million | 1994–2009 | Russia vs. Separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria | Caucasus |
| Indian Annexation of Hyderabad | 0.2 million | 1947–1948 | India vs. Hyderabad | Indian subcontinent |
| La Violencia | 0.2 million | 1948–1958 | Colombian Conservative Party vs. Colombian Liberal Party | Colombia |
| Greco-Persian Wars | 0.2 million | 499 BCE–449 BCE | Greek city-states vs. Achaemenid Empire | Southeast Europe, West Asia, and Northeast Africa |
| Guatemalan Civil War | 0.14–0.2 million | 1960–1996 | Government of Guatemala vs. Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity | Central America |
| North Yemen Civil War | 0.1–0.2 million | 1962–1970 | Kingdom of Yemen vs. Yemen Arab Republic | Yemen |
| Italo-Senussi Wars | 0.07-0.2 million | 1911–1934 | Kingdom of Italy vs. Senusiyya, Ottoman Empire | North Africa |
| Portuguese Colonial War | 0.14–0.18 million | 1961–1974 | Estado Novo vs. MPLA, PAIGC, FNLA, among others | Angola, Guinea, and Mozambique |
| Thousand Days' War | 0.1–0.18 million | 1899–1902 | Colombian Conservative Party vs. Colombian Liberal Party | Colombia |
| Sri Lankan Civil War | 0.08–0.17 million | 1983–2009 | Sri Lankan government vs. Separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam | Sri Lanka |
| Civil conflict in the Philippines | 0.16 million | 1968–present | Filipino government vs. Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Communist Party of the Philippines, and Abu Sayyaf | Philippines |
| Russo-Japanese War | 0.12–0.16 million | 1904–1905 | Empire of Japan vs. Russian Empire | East Asia |
| Sudanese civil war (2023–present) | 0.15 million | 2023–present | Sudan and allies vs. Rapid Support Forces and allies | Sudan |
| Algerian Civil War | 0.15 million | 1992–2002 | Multiple sides | North Africa |
| Arab-Israeli conflict | 0.15 million | 1948–present | Israel vs. Arab League, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthi movement | Levant |
| Lebanese Civil War | 0.12–0.15 million | 1975–1990 | Multiple sides | Levant |
| Greek Civil War | 0.08–0.15 million | 1946–1949 | Kingdom of Greece vs. Provisional Democratic Government | Balkans and Peloponnese Peninsula |
| Yugoslav Wars | 0.13–0.14 million | 1991–2001 | Separatist forces and NATO vs. Yugoslavia, later Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | Balkans |
| Irish Nine Years' War | 0.13 million | 1593–1603 | Kingdom of England vs. Irish rebels | Ireland |
| Chaco War | 0.08–0.13 million | 1932–1935 | Paraguay vs. Bolivia | Paraguay and Bolivia |
| Nanda–Mauryan War | 0.1 million | 323 BCE–321 BCE | Maurya Empire vs. Nanda Empire | Indian subcontinent |
| Federal War | 0.1 million | 1859–1863 | Federal rebels vs. Conservative government | Venezuela |
| Wars of Alexander the Great | 0.1 million | 336 BCE–332 BCE | Macedonian empire vs. Achaemenid Empire | Anatolia, Greece, Levant, Persia, Middle East, Indian subcontinent and Mesopotamia |
| Congo Crisis | 0.1 million | 1960–1965 | Republic of the Congo, later Democratic Republic of the Congo, and allies vs. Congo Free State, South Kasai, Katanga, Kwilu rebels, Simba rebels, and allies | Congo |
| White Lotus Rebellion | 0.1 million | 1794–1804 | Qing dynasty vs. White Lotus | China |