List of wars by death toll[edit]

This list of wars by death toll includes all deaths that are either directly or indirectly caused by the war. These numbers usually include the deaths of military personnel which are the direct results of battle or other military wartime actions, as well as the wartime/war-related deaths of soldiers which are the results of war-induced epidemics, famines, atrocities, genocide, etc.

Wars with greater than 2.5 million deaths[edit]

Types of war
	Civil war
	Colonial war
	Proxy war
	Religious war
	War of conquest
	War of liberation
	World war

Wars in excess of 2.5 million deaths[edit]
No.	War	Date	Combatants	Location	Death toll
No.	War	Date	Combatants	Location	Low est.	High est.
1	Second World War	1939 – 1945	Allies United Kingdom Soviet Union United States China ...and other countries Axis Nazi Germany Facist Italy Empire of Japan ...and other countries	Worldwide	55,000,000^[1]	85,000,000^[2]
2	Ming-Qing War	1618 – 1683	Qing dynasty and allies Ming defectors Joseon VOC Ming dynasty and allies Tiandihui Yehe Nara clan Southern Ming dynasty Kingdom of Tungning Separatists Shun dynasty Xi dynasty Kingdom of Shu	China	25,000,000^[3]	25,000,000^[4]
3	Taiping Rebellion	1851 – 1864	Qing dynasty and allies France United Kingdom Heavenly Kingdom and rebels Nian rebels Red Turban rebels Small Swords Society Miao rebels Du Wenxiu rebels Islamic rebels Black Flag Army	China	20,000,000^[5]	70,000,000^[6]
4	Conquests of Genghis Khan	1206 – 1227	Mongol Empire and allies Qocho Karluks Various Eurasian states Jin dynasty Khwarazmian Empire Later Liao Qara Khitai Western Xia Volga Bulgaria Kievan Rus'	Eurasia	18,500,000^[7]	37,750,000^[8]
5	Second Sino-Japanese War	1937 – 1945	China Second United Front Nationalists Communists Foreign support: Nazi Germany Soviet Union United Kingdom United States Empire of Japan and allies Manchukuo Mengjiang Chinese collaborationists Reformed Gov. East Hebei Provisional Gov. Wang Jingwei regime	China	15,000,000^[9]	20,000,000^[10]
6	First World War	1914 – 1918	Entente Powers France Kingdom of Italy Empire of Japan Russian Empire British Empire United States ...and other countries Central Powers German Empire Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Tsardom of Bulgaria	Worldwide	15,000,000	22,000,000
7	An–Shi Disturbances	755 – 763	Tang dynasty and allies Uyghur Khaganate Abbasid Caliphate Yan dynasty	China	13,000,000	36,000,000
8	Conquests of Timur	1370 – 1405	Timurid Empire Various Eurasian states Chagatai Khanate District of Branković Golden Horde Mamluk Sultanate Ottoman Sultanate Tughlaq dynasty ...and other states	Eurasia	12,000,000	17,000,000
9	Xin-Han interregnum	21 – 37	Han dynasty Xuan Han administration Eastern Han dynasty Xin dynasty and separatists Cheng dynasty Wang Lang's rebels Peasant rebels Lulin rebels Red Eyebrows rebels	China	10,000,000	10,000,000
10	Dungan Revolt	1862 – 1877	Qing dynasty and allies Hui Muslim loyalists Khufiyya order Shanxi Gedimu loyalists Various defected warlords Foreign support: Russian Empire Kashgaria and rebels Dungan rebels Khotanese rebels Kyrgyz rebels Taranchi Sultanate of Ili Foreign support: United Kingdom Ottoman Empire	China	8,000,000	20,000,000
11	Chinese Civil War	1927 – 1949	China Nationalists NRA ROC Armed Forces Foreign support: United States Communists Red Army PLA CSR Jiangxi–Fujian Soviet Fujian Inner Mongolia Foreign support: Soviet Union	China	8,000,000	11,692,000
12	Red Turban Rebellions	1350 – 1368	Yuan dynasty and allies Principality of Liang Northern Yuan dynasty Goryeo Red Turban rebels Northern rebels: Song dynasty Ming dynasty Western Wu dynasty Southern rebels: Tianwan dynasty Chen Han dynasty Ming Xia dynasty Seperatists Kingdom of Zhou Kingdom of Wu Fujian Muslim rebels Various warlords	China	7,500,000	7,500,000
13	Russian Civil War	1917 – 1923	Bolsheviks Russian SFSR Ukrainian SSR Byelorussian SSR Transcaucasian SFSR ...and other states Whites South Russia Russian State Eastern Okraina Prov. Priamurye Gov. ...and other states Seperatists Poland Finland Ukraine Estonia ...and other states	Eurasia	7,000,000	12,500,000
14	Mughal–Maratha Wars	1658 – 1707	Maratha Empire Mughal Empire	South Asia	5,000,000	5,000,000
15	Mahdist War	1881 – 1899	Egypt and allies United Kingdom Ethiopian Empire Kingdom of Italy Congo Free State Mahdist State	Northeast Africa	5,000,000	5,000,000
16	Thirty Years' War	1618 – 1648	Anti-Imperial Alliance prior to 1635: Kingdom of Bohemia Sweden Palatinate Savoy ...and other states post-1635 Peace of Prague: France Sweden Dutch Republic Hesse-Kassel Imperial Alliance prior to 1635: Habsburg Monarchy Spanish Empire Bavaria Catholic League post-1635 Peace of Prague: Holy Roman Empire Spanish Empire Denmark–Norway	Central Europe	4,000,000	8,500,000
17	Napoleonic Wars	1803 – 1815	Coalition forces United Kingdom Holy Roman Empire Austria Prussia ...and other states French Empire and allies Client states: Bonapartist Spain Confederation of the Rhine ...and other states Denmark–Norway Qajar Iran ...and other states	Worldwide	3,500,000	7,000,000
18	Korean War	1950 – 1953	South Korea and allies United Nations Command United States United Kingdom Canada Turkey ...and other countries North Korea and allies People's Republic of China Soviet Union Supported by: Albania Bulgaria Czechoslovakia ...and other countries	Korea	3,000,000	3,500,000
19	Deluge	1648 – 1666	Polish-Lithuania and allies Crimean Khanate Austria Brandenburg-Prussia Denmark–Norway Dutch Republic Swedish Empire and allies Tsardom of Russia Cossack Hetmanate Transylvania Moldavia Wallachia	Poland	3,000,000	3,000,000
20	Second Congo War	1998 – 2003	DR Congo and allies Angola Chad Namibia Zimbabwe Pro-DR Congo rebels: Anti-Ugandan rebels Anti-Rwandan rebels Anti-Burundi rebels Anti-DR Congo rebels and allies Rwandan-aligned rebels Ugandan-aligned rebels Anti-Angolan rebels Foreign support: Uganda Rwanda Burundi	Central Africa	2,500,000^[11]	5,400,000^[12]