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World War II casualties
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World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. Tens of millions were killed. The tables below give a detailed country-by-country count of human losses.
d War II casualty statistics vary greatly. Estimates of total dead range from 50 million to over 70 million. The sources cited on this page document an estimated death toll in World War II of roughly 72 million, making it the deadliest ever.

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World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. Tens of millions were killed. The tables below give a detailed country-by-country count of human losses.
Total dead
World War II casualty statistics vary greatly. Estimates of total dead range from 50 million to over 70 million. The sources cited on this page document an estimated death toll in World War II of roughly 72 million, making it the deadliest ever. Civilians killed totaled around 47 million, including 20 million from war-related disease and famine. Total military dead: about 25 million, including deaths in captivity of about 4 million prisoners of war. Axis dead: approximately 11 million; Allied dead: about 61 million.
Recent historical scholarship
Recent historical scholarship has shed new light on the topic. Research in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union has caused a revision of estimates of Soviet war dead. Estimated USSR losses within postwar borders now stand at 26.6 million. Researchers in post-communist Poland now put Polish civilian deaths at German hands at between 4.9 and 5.1 million.
The German Army historian Dr. Rüdiger Overmans published a study in 2000 that estimated German military dead and missing at 5.3 million. War dead totals on this page for the British Commonwealth are based on research by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Casualties here listed include about 12 million war-related famine deaths in China, Indonesia, French Indochina and India, often omitted from compilations of World War II casualties.
Casualties by country
The casualties of World War II were suffered disproportionately by the various participants. This is especially true regarding civilian casualties. The following chart gives data on the casualties suffered by each country, along with population information to show the relative impact of losses. Military casualties include battle deaths (KIA) and personnel missing in action (MIA), as well as fatalities due to accidents, disease and deaths of prisoners of war in captivity. Civilian casualties include deaths caused by strategic bombing, Nazi persecution, Japanese war crimes, population transfers in the Soviet Union, Allied war crimes and deaths due to war related famine and disease. Jewish losses in the Holocaust are listed separately for each nation, since they are known. Compiling or estimating the numbers of deaths caused during wars and other violent conflicts is a controversial subject. Historians often put forward many different estimates of the numbers killed during World War II. The distinction between military and civilian casualties caused directly by warfare and collateral damage is not always clear cut. For nations that suffered huge losses such as the U.S.S.R, China, Poland, Germany and Yugoslavia, our sources can give us only the total estimated population loss caused by the war and a rough estimate of the breakdown of deaths caused by military activity, crimes against humanity and war related famine. The footnotes give a detailed breakdown of the casualties and their sources.
Human Losses of World War Two by Country |
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| Country | Population 1939 | Military deaths | Civilian deaths | Jewish Holocaust deaths | Total deaths | Deaths as % of 1939 population |
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| | 1,073,000 | 28,000 | | 200 | 28,200 | 2.63% | | 6,998,000 | 40,500 | 700 | | 41,200 | 0.57% | | 6,653,000 | | 40,500 | 65,000 | 105,500 | 1.59% | | 8,387,000 | 12,100 | 49,600 | 24,400 | 86,100 | 1.02% | | | 40,289,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | | 2,000 | 0.00% | | 6,458,000 | 22,000 | 3,000 | | 25,000 | 0.38% | | | 16,119,000 | 22,000 | 250,000 | | 272,000 | 1.16% | | | 11,267,000 | 45,300 | | | 45,300 | 0.40% | | | 517,568,000 | 3,800,000 | 16,200,000 | | 20,000,000 | 3.86% | | 4,235,000 | | 100 | | 100 | 0.00% | | 15,300,000 | 25,000 | 43,000 | 277,000 | 345,000 | 2.25% | | 3,795,000 | 2,100 | 1,000 | 100 | 3,200 | 0.08% | | 1,134,000 | | 50,000 | 1,000 | 51,000 | 4.50% | | | 17,700,000 | 5,000 | 95,000 | | 100,000 | 0.6% | | 3,700,000 | 95,000 | 2,000 | | 97,000 | 2.62% | | 41,700,000 | 217,600 | 267,000 | 83,000 | 567,600 | 1.35% | | 24,600,000 | | 1,000,000 | | 1,000,000 | 4.07% | | | 69,623,000 | 5,533,000 | 1,540,000 | 160,000 | 7,233,000 | 10.38% | | | 7,222,000 | 20,000 | 220,000 | 71,300 | 311,300 | 4.31% | | | 9,129,000 | 300,000 | 80,000 | 200,000 | 580,000 | 6.35% | | 119,000 | | 200 | | 200 | 0.17% | | | 378,000,000 | 87,000 | 1,500,000 | | 1,587,000 | 0.42% | | | 69,435,000 | | 4,000,000 | | 4,000,000 | 5.76% | | | 14,340,000 | 200 | | | 200 | 0.00% | | | 3,698,000 | 1,000 | | | 1,000 | 0.03% | | 2,960,000 | | 200 | | 200 | 0.00% | | | 44,394,000 | 301,400 | 145,100 | 8,000 | 454,500 | 1.02% | | | 71,380,000 | 2,120,000 | 580,000 | | 2,700,000 | 3.78% | | | 23,400,000 | | 378,000 | | 378,000 | 1.6% | | 1,995,000 | | 147,000 | 80,000 | 227,000 | 11.38% | | | 2,575,000 | | 212,000 | 141,000 | 353,000 | 13.71% | | 295,000 | | 1,300 | 700 | 2,000 | 0.68% | | 4,391,000 | | 100,000 | | 100,000 | 2.28% | | | 269,000 | | 1,500 | | 1,500 | 0.56% | | | 19,320,000 | | 100 | | 100 | 0.00% | | 1,900,000 | | 57,000 | | 57,000 | 3.00% | | | 819,000 | 300 | | | 300 | 0.04% | | | 8,729,000 | 21,000 | 176,000 | 104,000 | 301,000 | 3.44% | | 300,000 | 1,000 | 100 | | 1,100 | 0.37% | | 1,629,000 | 11,900 | | | 11,900 | 0.67% | | 2,945,000 | 3,000 | 5,800 | 700 | 9,500 | 0.32% | | | 16,000,000 | 57,000 | 90,000 | | 147,000 | 0.92% | | 34,849,000 | 240,000 | 2,360,000 | 3,000,000 | 5,600,000 | 16.07% | | | 500,000 | | 55,000 | | 55,000 | 11.00% | | 19,934,000 | 300,000 | 64,000 | 469,000 | 833,000 | 4.22% | | | 728,000 | | 50,000 | | 50,000 | 6.87% | | | 10,160,000 | 11,900 | | | 11,900 | 0.12% | | | 168,500,000 | 10,700,000 | 11,400,000 | 1,000,000 | 23,100,000 | 13.71% | | | 25,637,000 | 4,500 | | | 4,500 | 0.02% |  | 6,341,000 | 200 | 2,000 | | 2,200 | 0.03% |  | 4,210,000 | | 100 | | 100 | 0.00% | | 15,023,000 | 5,600 | 300 | | 5,900 | 0.04% | | | 47,760,000 | 382,700 | 67,100 | | 449,800 | 0.94% | | | 131,028,000 | 416,800 | 1,700 | | 418,500 | 0.32% | | 15,400,000 | 446,000 | 514,000 | 67,000 | 1,027,000 | 6.67% | |
Totals | 1,961,913,000 | 25,280,100 | 41,753,400 | 5,752,400 | 72,754,900 | 3.71% |
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Human Losses of World War Two by Continent |
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| Continent | Civilian deaths | Military deaths | Total deaths |
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| Asia | 24,203,300 | 6,093,100 | 30,296,400 | | Europe | 23,302,800 | 18,653,600 | 41,956,400 | | Africa | 95,000 | 16,900 | 111,900 | | Oceania | 57,700 | 52,400 | 110,100 | | Americas | 3,000 | 464,100 | 467,100 | |
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Totals | 47,661,800 | 25,280,100 | 72,941,900 |
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Casualties by alliance
Casualties by branch of service
Casualties of World War Two by Branch of Service |
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| Country | Branch of service | Number served | Killed/missing | Wounded | Prisoner of war | Percent killed |
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| Germany | Army | 13,600,000 | 4,202,000 | | | 30.9% | | | Air Force | 2,500,000 | 433,000 | | | 17.32% | | | Navy | 1,200,000 | 138,000 | | | 11.5% | | | Waffen SS | 900,000 | 314,000 | | | 34.9% | | | Volkssturm and Police | | 231,000 | | | | | | Soviet citizens in German military service | | 215,000 | | | | | | Unidentified by branch of service (see note below) | | | | | | | Japan | Army | 6,300,000 | 1,526,000 | 85,600 | 30,000 | 24.22% | | | Navy | 2,100,000 | 414,900 | 8,900 | 10,000 | 19.76% | | Soviet Union 1939-40 | All branches of service | | 136,945 | 205,924 | | | | Soviet Union 1941-45 | All branches of service | 34,476,700 | 8,668,400 | 14,685,593 | 4,059,000 | 25.1% | | | Conscripted Reservists (see note below) | | 1,500,000 | | 1,200,000 | | | | Paramilitary and Soviet partisan units | | 400,000 | | | | | British Commonwealth | All branches of service | 11,115,000 | 580,351 | 475,000 | 318,000 | 5.2% | | United States | Army | 11,260,000 | 318,274 | 565,861 | | 2.8% | | | United States Army Air Forces(included in Army) | (3,400,000) | (88,119) | (17,360) | | 2.5% | | | Navy | 4,183,446 | 62,614 | 37,778 | | 1.5% | | | Marine Corps | 669,100 | 24,511 | 68,207 | | 3.66% | | | United States Coast Guard | 241,093 | 1,917 | | | 0.78% | | | United States Merchant Marine | 243,000 | 9,521 | 12,000 | | 3.9% | | | Unidentified by branch of service . | | | | 130,201 | |
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Footnotes
See also
Main articles
Other articles
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