List of Human Losses of World War II 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 and personnel missing in action, 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 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.
| Country | Population 1939 | Military deaths | Civilian deaths | Jewish Holocaust deaths | Total deaths | Deaths as % of 1939 population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 1,073,000 | 28,000 | 200 | 28,200 | 2.63% | |
| Australia | 6,998,000 | 39,400 | 700 | 40,100 | 0.57% | |
| Austria | 6,653,000 | 40,500 | 65,000 | 105,500 | 1.59% | |
| Belgium | 8,387,000 | 12,100 | 49,600 | 24,400 | 86,100 | 1.02% |
| Brazil | 40,289,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 0.00% | |
| Bulgaria | 6,458,000 | 22,000 | 3,000 | 25,000 | 0.38% | |
| Burma | 16,119,000 | 22,000 | 250,000 | 272,000 | 1.16% | |
| Canada | 11,267,000 | 45,300 | 45,300 | 0.40% | ||
| Republic of China | 517,568,000 | 3,800,000 | 16,200,000 | 20,000,000 | 3.86% | |
| Cuba | 4,235,000 | 100 | 100 | 0.00% | ||
| Czechoslovakia | 15,300,000 | 25,000 | 43,000 | 277,000 | 345,000 | 2.25% |
| Denmark | 3,795,000 | 2,100 | 1,000 | 100 | 3,200 | 0.08% |
| Estonia | 1,134,000 | 48,000 | 1,000 | 49,000 | 4.62% | |
| Ethiopia | 17,700,000 | 5,000 | 95,000 | 100,000 | 0.6% | |
| Finland | 3,700,000 | 95,000 | 2,000 | 97,000 | 2.62% | |
| France | 41,700,000 | 217,600 | 267,000 | 83,000 | 567,600 | 1.35% |
| French Indochina | 24,600,000 | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 4.07% | ||
| Nazi Germany | 69,623,000 | 5,533,000 | 1,600,000 | 160,000 | 7,293,000 | 10.47% |
| Greece | 7,222,000 | 20,000 | 220,000 | 71,300 | 311,300 | 4.31% |
| Hungary | 9,129,000 | 300,000 | 80,000 | 200,000 | 580,000 | 6.35% |
| Iceland | 119,000 | 200 | 200 | 0.17% | ||
| Indian Empire | 378,000,000 | 87,000 | 1,500,000 | 1,587,000 | 0.42% | |
| Indonesia | 69,435,000 | 4,000,000 | 4,000,000 | 5.76% | ||
| Iran | 14,340,000 | 200 | 200 | 0.00% | ||
| Iraq | 3,698,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0.03% | ||
| Ireland | 2,960,000 | 200 | 200 | 0.00% | ||
| Italy | 44,394,000 | 301,400 | 145,100 | 8,000 | 454,500 | 1.02% |
| Japan | 71,380,000 | 2,120,000 | 580,000 | 2,700,000 | 3.78% | |
| Korea | 23,400,000 | 378,000 | 378,000 | 1.6% | ||
| Latvia | 1,995,000 | 147,000 | 80,000 | 227,000 | 11.38% | |
| Lithuania | 2,575,000 | 212,000 | 141,000 | 353,000 | 13.71% | |
| Luxembourg | 295,000 | 1,300 | 700 | 2,000 | 0.68% | |
| Malaya | 4,391,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 | 2.28% | ||
| Malta | 269,000 | 1,500 | 1,500 | 0.56% | ||
| Mexico | 19,320,000 | 100 | 100 | 0.00% | ||
| Mongolia | 819,000 | 300 | 300 | 0.04% | ||
| Netherlands | 8,729,000 | 15,800 | 109,300 | 106,000 | 231,100 | 2.65% |
| Newfoundland | 300,000 | 1,000 | 100 | 1,100 | 0.37% | |
| New Zealand | 1,629,000 | 11,900 | 11,900 | 0.67% | ||
| Norway | 2,945,000 | 3,000 | 5,800 | 700 | 9,500 | 0.32% |
| Philippines | 16,000,000 | 57,000 | 90,000 | 147,000 | 0.92% | |
| Micronesia | 1,900,000 | 57,000 | 57,000 | 3.00% | ||
| Poland | 34,849,000 | 240,000 | 2,360,000 | 3,000,000 | 5,600,000 | 16.07% |
| Portuguese Timor | 500,000 | 55,000 | 55,000 | 11.00% | ||
| Romania | 19,934,000 | 300,000 | 64,000 | 469,000 | 833,000 | 4.22% |
| Singapore | 728,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 6.87% | ||
| South Africa | 10,160,000 | 11,900 | 11,900 | 0.12% | ||
| Soviet Union | 168,500,000 | 10,700,000 | 11,400,000 | 1,000,000 | 23,100,000 | 13.71% |
| Spain | 25,637,000 | 4,500 | 4,500 | 0.02% | ||
| Sweden | 6,341,000 | 200 | 2,000 | 2,200 | 0.03% | |
| Switzerland | 4,210,000 | 100 | 100 | 0.00% | ||
| Thailand | 15,023,000 | 5,600 | 300 | 5,900 | 0.04% | |
| United Kingdom | 47,760,000 | 382,600 | 67,800 | 450,400 | 0.94% | |
| United States | 131,028,000 | 416,800 | 1,700 | 418,500 | 0.32% | |
| Yugoslavia | 15,400,000 | 446,000 | 514,000 | 67,000 | 1,027,000 | 6.67% |
| Totals | 1,961,913,000 | 25,273,700 | 41,743,400 | 5,754,400 | 72,771,500 | 3.71% |
The total estimated human loss of life caused by World War II was roughly 72 million people, making it the deadliest and most destructive war in human history.
The civilian toll was around 47 million, including 20 million deaths due to war-related famine and disease.
The military toll was about 25 million, including the deaths of about 4 million prisoners of war in captivity.
The Allies lost approximately 61 million people, and the Axis powers lost 11 million.