List of wars by death toll

These numbers encompass the deaths of military personnel resulting directly from battles or other wartime actions, as well as wartime or war-related civilian deaths, often caused by war-induced epidemics, famines, or genocides.

Due to incomplete records, the destruction of evidence, differing counting methods, and various other factors, war death tolls are often uncertain and highly debated.

For this reason, the death tolls in this article typically provide a range of estimates from various scholars.

This list broadly defines war as an extended conflict between two or more armed political groups.

Consequently, it excludes mass death events such as human sacrifices, ethnic cleansing operations, and acts of state terrorism or political repression during peacetime or in contexts unrelated to war.