HISTORY

War

Wars with the Highest Total Casualties

This list features the deadliest wars in history based on the death toll.

RANK	WAR	DEATH TOLL	DATES	PARTIES INVOLVED	LOCATION
1	World War II	50–85 million	1939–1945	Allied Powers vs. Axis Powers	Global
2	Mongol invasions and conquests	20–60 million	1207–1405	Mongol Empire vs. various states in Eurasia	Asia and Europe
3	An Lushan Rebellion	13–36 million	754–763	Tang Dynasty and Uyghur Khaganate vs. Yan Dynasty	China
4	Three Kingdoms War	34 million	220–280	Multiple sides	China
5	Taiping Rebellion	20–30 million	1850–1864	Qing Dynasty vs. Taiping Heavenly Kingdom	China
6	World War I	15–30 million	1914–1918	Allied Powers vs. Central Powers	Global
7	Manchu Conquest of China	25 million	1618–1683	Manchu vs. Ming Dynasty	China
8	Conquests of Timur	7–20 million	1369–1405	Timurid Empire vs. various states in Asia	Central Asia, West Asia, South Asia
9	Russian Civil War	7–12 million	1917–1922	Multiple sides; Bolsheviks, Anti-Bolshevik left, White Movement, Allied and Central Intervention	Russia
10	Thirty Years' War	4–12 million	1618–1648	Anti-Imperial Alliance vs. Imperial Alliance	Europe
11	Spanish conquest of Mexico	10.5 million	1519–1530	Spanish Empire and allies vs. Aztec Empire	Mexico
12	Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire	10 million	1533–1572	Spanish Empire vs. Inca Empire	South America
13	Chinese Civil War	4–9 million	1927–1949	Multiple sides; predominantly Communists vs. Kuomintang	China
14	Crusades	1–9 million	1095–1291	Originally Byzantine Empire vs. Seljuk Empire; evolved into Christians vs. Muslims	Europe and the Middle East
15	Reconquista	7 million	718–1492	Spanish and Portuguese Christians vs. Muslims	Iberian Peninsula

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References

Wikipedia, 2024. List of Wars by Death Toll. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_by_death_toll[Accessed: 1 December 2025]. National WWII Museum, 2024. Worldwide Deaths in World War II. Available at: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/research-starters-worldwide-deaths-world-war [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. National Park Service, 2024. World War II. Available at: https://www.nps.gov/eise/learn/historyculture/world-war-ii.htm[Accessed: 1 December 2025]. De Gruyter, 2024. Available at: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111542737-007/html [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Necrometrics, 2024. Pre-1700 Death Tolls. Available at: https://necrometrics.com/pre1700a.htm [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Britannica, 2024. Taiping Rebellion. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Taiping-Rebellion [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. National Museum of Australia, 2024. The First World War: Defining Moments. Available at: https://digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/learning-modules/first-world-war-defining-moments-1914-1918/13-how-did-death-one-man-start-world-war [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Statista, 2024. First World War Fatalities per Country. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1208625/first-world-war-fatalities-per-country/ [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. South China Morning Post, 2024. History of Today’s Violence. Available at: https://www.scmp.com/article/983157/history-todays-violence-speck [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Business Insider, 2024. 5 of the 10 Deadliest Wars Began in China. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/5-of-the-10-deadliest-wars-began-in-china/articleshow/44519269.cms [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. International Committee of the Red Cross, 2024. Thirty Years’ War: First Modern War. Available at: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2017/05/23/thirty-years-war-first-modern-war/ [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Remilitari, 2024. Available at: https://remilitari.com/guias/victimario9.htm [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Necrometrics, 2024. 20th Century Death Tolls. Available at: https://necrometrics.com/20c1m.htm [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024. Available at: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/457/article/901468 [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Council on Foreign Relations, 2024. Global Conflict Tracker: Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Available at: https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Reuters, 2024. Death Toll in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-democratic-death-idUSL2280201220080122/ [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. British Medical Journal, 2024. Available at: https://www.bmj.com/content/336/7638/235.2 [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Universidad de los Andes, 2024. Ensayos de Historia Social. Available at: https://cienciassociales.uniandes.edu.co/historia-geografia/publicaciones/ensayos-de-historia-social/ [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Banco de la República, 2024. Available at: https://www.banrep.gov.co/sites/default/files/paginas/lbr_colonial_graficos3.pdf [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Borgen Project, 2024. Top 12 Deadliest Wars in History. Available at: https://borgenproject.org/top-12-deadliest-wars-in-history/ [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Yahoo Finance, 2024. 20 Most Deadliest Wars in History. Available at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/20-most-deadliest-wars-time-201920142.html [Accessed 1 December 2025].

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Wars with the Highest Total Casualties

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