List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll

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This is a list of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll.It covers the name of the event, the location and the start and end of each event. Some events may belong in more than one category. In addition, some of the listed events overlap each other, and in some cases the death toll from a smaller event is included in the one for the larger event or time period of which it was part.

Wars and armed conflicts with highest estimated death tolls of 100,000 or more

Main article: List of wars by death toll

This section list all wars in which the highest estimated casualties exceed 100,000, this includes deaths of both soldiers, civilians, etc from causes both directly and indirectly caused by the war, including combat, disease, famine, massacres, suicide, and genocide.

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Event Lowest estimate Highest estimate Geometric mean estimate[1] Location From Until Duration Notes, see also
World War II 60,000,000 118,357,000[2] 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. The earlier, "unofficial" part of the period, from 184 to 220, was marked by chaotic infighting between warlords in various parts of China.
See also: End of the Han dynasty
Mongol conquests 30,000,000[3][unreliable source?] 40,000,000[citation needed] 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[4] (mostly by disease) 138,000,000 (mostly by disease)[5][unreliable source?] 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. The 90% death rate was mainly caused by disease.[a] Vast depopulation contributed to Little Ice Age[8]
Taiping Rebellion 10,000,000[9] 100,000,000[10][11][12] 31,622,777 China 1851 1864 14 years See also: Qing dynasty
Transition from Ming to Qing 25,000,000[13] 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 13,020,000 36,000,000 21,633,308 China 755 763 8 years Also known as the An–Shi rebellion
World War I 17,500,000[14] 100,000,000+ (includes Spanish flu influenza epidemic[15] 23,568,559 Worldwide 1914 1918 4 years, 3 months, 1 week
Conquests of Timur 8,000,000[16][unreliable source?][17][unreliable source?] 17,000,000[18][19] 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[20] 11,692,000[21] 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[citation needed] 9,000,000[22] 6,708,204 Russia 1917 1921 5 years See also: Russian Revolution, List of civil wars
Thirty Years' War 3,000,000[23] 11,500,000[24][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.[citation needed]
Mughal–Maratha Wars 5,600,000 5,600,000 5,600,000 India 1680 1707 27 years
Napoleonic Wars 3,500,000
[citation needed] 		7,000,000[25] 4,949,747 Europe, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean 1803 1815 13 years See also: Napoleonic Wars casualties
Yellow Turban Rebellion 3,000,000[26] 7,000,000[26] 4,582,576 China 184 205 22 years – Part of the Three Kingdoms War
Second Congo War 2,500,000[27] 5,400,000[28] 3,674,235 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1998 2003 6 years
Korean War 1,500,000[29] 4,500,000[29] 3,000,000 Korean Peninsula 1950 1953 4 years Categorized as part of the Cold War.
French Wars of Religion 2,000,000 4,000,000[30][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[31] 3,300,000[32] 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[33] 3,800,000[34] 2,383,000 Southeast Asia 1955 1975 21 years Cold War and First Indochina War
Crusades 1,000,000[35][unreliable source?] 3,000,000[36][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[citation needed] 2,000,000 Nigeria 1966 1970 4 years Ethnic cleansings of the Igbo people followed by Civil War.
Mfecane 1,500,000[37] 2,000,000[38] 1,750,000 Southern Africa 1816 1828 13 years Ndwandwe–Zulu War
Punic Wars 1,250,000[39] 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[40] 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[41] 2,000,000 China 230 BC 221 BC 9 years See also: History of China[42][43]
Seven Years' War 868,000 1,400,000 1,102,361 Worldwide 1756 1763 7 years
Soviet–Afghan War 600,000[44][unreliable source?] 2,000,000[44][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[45] 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[46] 2,000,000[46] 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[citation needed] 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 [47]
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[citation needed] 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[48] 1,200,000[49] 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[citation needed] 1,100,000[citation needed] 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[citation needed]

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
Syrian Civil War 500,000 570,000 535,000 Syria 2011 Present 8 years
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[50] 507,000[50] 493,500 Worldwide 2001 Present 18 years Includes Iraq War, War in Afghanistan (2001–present), and War in North-West Pakistan.
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[50] 461,000[51] 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 3,000,000 500,000 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