Estimates for the total death count of the Second World War generally range somewhere between 70 and 85 million people. The Soviet Union suffered the highest number of fatalities of any single nation, with estimates mostly falling between 22 and 27 million deaths. China then suffered the second greatest, at around 20 million, although these figures are less certain and often overlap with the Chinese Civil War. Over 80 percent of all deaths were of those from Allied countries, and the majority of these were civilians. In contrast, 15 to 20 percent were among the Axis powers, and the majority of these were military deaths, as shown in the death ratios of Germany and Japan. Civilian deaths and atrocities It is believed that 60 to 67 percent of all deaths were civilian fatalities, largely resulting from war-related famine or disease, and war crimes or atrocities. Systematic genocide, extermination campaigns, and forced labor, particularly by the Germans, Japanese, and Soviets, led to the deaths of millions. In this regard, Nazi activities alone resulted in 17 million deaths, including six million Jews in what is now known as The Holocaust. Not only was the scale of the conflict larger than any that had come before, but the nature of and reasoning behind this loss make the Second World War stand out as one of the most devastating and cruelest conflicts in history. Problems with these statistics Although the war is considered by many to be the defining event of the 20th century, exact figures for death tolls have proven impossible to determine, for a variety of reasons. Countries such as the U.S. have fairly consistent estimates due to preserved military records and comparatively few civilian casualties, although figures still vary by source. For most of Europe, records are less accurate. Border fluctuations and the upheaval of the interwar period mean that pre-war records were already poor or non-existent for many regions. The rapid and chaotic nature of the war then meant that deaths could not be accurately recorded at the time, and mass displacement or forced relocation resulted in the deaths of many civilians outside of their homeland, which makes country-specific figures more difficult to find. Early estimates of the war’s fatalities were also taken at face value and formed the basis of many historical works; these were often very inaccurate, but the validity of the source means that the figures continue to be cited today, despite contrary evidence.

In comparison to Europe, estimate ranges are often greater across Asia, where populations were larger but pre-war data was in short supply. Many of the Asian countries with high death tolls were European colonies, and the actions of authorities in the metropoles, such as the diversion of resources from Asia to Europe, led to millions of deaths through famine and disease. Additionally, over one million African soldiers were drafted into Europe’s armies during the war, yet individual statistics are unavailable for most of these colonies or successor states (notably Algeria and Libya). Thousands of Asian and African military deaths went unrecorded or are included with European or Japanese figures, and there are no reliable figures for deaths of millions from countries across North Africa or East Asia. Additionally, many concentration camp records were destroyed, and such records in Africa and Asia were even sparser than in Europe. While the Second World War is one of the most studied academic topics of the past century, it is unlikely that we will ever have a clear number for the lives lost in the conflict.

Between 2003 and 2024, the annual number of civilian deaths due to the Iraq war has fluctuated significantly. As of July, there were 210 deaths in 2024. Civilian Deaths in the Iraq WarCivilian casualties are the deaths of non-military individuals as a result of military operations. The number of documented civilian deaths in the Iraq war peaked in 2006 at 29,526 casualties. Since then, the number had fallen to 4,162 casualties documented in the year 2011, and the number of casualties has been decreasing again since 2014. Due to the nature of the Iraq war and of war reporting, data cannot be considered exact. Many civilian deaths that occurred during the war in Iraq may remain unaccounted for. The Iraq war was launched in March 2003 upon the invasion of Iraq by U.S. forces. Eight years later, in December 2011, the U.S. formally declared an end to the Iraq war. From the start of the war in 2003 until September 30, 2015, it is estimated that the United States spent a total of over 819 billion US dollars on war costs in Iraq. This number includes funding requested by the President and appropriated by Congress, and accounts for both military and non-military spending. Spending was highest in 2008, that year over 142 billion US dollars were spent in Iraq by the United States government. As of 2022, around 6,561 U.S. active-duty military personnel were deployed in North Africa, the Near East, and South Asia. The number of US American soldiers killed in Iraq peaked in 2007 with just over nine hundred causalities. In the same year, there were over 25,000 civilian deaths in Iraq.

Attitude towards the enlargement of the EU. Topics: awareness of the enlargement of the European Union; naming of three applying countries; attitude towards the enlargement of the EU by the applying countries; benefit for the United Kingdom from the enlargement; most important conditions to join the EU; attitude towards selected statements on the political impact of the enlargement of the European Union: will reduce risks of war and conflicts in Europe, moral duty to reunite Europe after the Cold War, stronger influence of the EU on a global level, political instability due to spreading of external borders, enlargement as an excuse for more power, less important role of the own country in Europe, loss of contact to citizens, more difficult to take decisions on EU level, no political impact; attitude towards the following statements on the economic impact of the enlargement of the European Union: more influence of the EU in world economic affairs, increase of prosperity in the own country due to the opening of new markets, achievement of Western living standard for applicant countries, loss of jobs in the own country, low-wage competition will cost jobs in the own country, higher payments to EU budget and getting less in return, disadvantages for farmers in the own country, strong economic differences between the member states, no economic impact; assessment of the impact of the enlargement: will reduce organized crime and drug smuggling, easier to tackle environmental problems, cultural enrichment, settling of citizens from other member states in the own country, opening up of borders will make it more difficult to tackle organized crime, no impact on people’s lives; self-rated knowledge on the enlargement. Demography: sex; age; age at end of education; occupation; professional position; region; type of community. Additionally coded was: country; interviewer ID; duration of the interview; weighting factor. Einstellungen zur EU-Erweiterung. Themen: Kenntnis der Beitrittsgesuche neuer Mitgliedsstaaten für die EU; Nennung von drei Kandidatenstaaten; Einstellung zur Aufnahme neuer Länder in die EU; Vorteilhaftigkeit der EU-Erweiterung für das Vereinigte Königreich; präferierte Kriterien für die Aufnahme eines Landes in die EU (einfacher Beitrittswunsch, Standards von Demokratie und Menschenrechten, Umsetzung der EU-Gesetze, wirtschaftliche Stärke, Einfügen in die kulturelle und religiöse Identität der EU, keine Belastung für das EU-Budget); Einstellungen zu politischen Folgen der EU-Erweiterung: Sicherung von Frieden, Demokratie und Stabilität in Europa, moralische Verpflichtung zur Vereinigung Europas, größerer politischer Einfluss Europas in der Welt, weniger politische Stabilität durch sensible Außengrenzen (Zentralasien, Mittlerer Osten), Erweiterung als Mittel zur bloßen Machtgewinnung der EU, Vernachlässigung britischer Interessen, Verlust der Bürgernähe der EU-Institutionen, Erschwerung von politischen Entscheidungen, keine politischen Folgen durch EU-Erweiterung; Einstellungen zu wirtschaftlichen Folgen der EU-Erweiterung: größerer Einfluss der EU auf die Weltwirtschaft, Stärkung der Wirtschaft des Vereinigten Königreiches durch größeren Absatzmarkt, Erhöhung des Wohlstands in den neuen Mitgliedsstaaten, höhere Arbeitslosigkeit im Vereinigten Königreich durch Arbeitsplatzverlagerungen in den Osten bzw. durch Niedriglohn-Konkurrenz, höhere finanzielle Belastung des Vereinigten Königreiches, Nachteile für die britische Landwirtschaft, Ineffizienz der EU durch zu große wirtschaftliche Unterschiede zwischen den Ländern, keine wirtschaftlichen Folgen durch die EU-Erweiterung; erwartete Auswirkungen der EU-Erweiterung auf das Leben der Menschen: Reduzierung von Kriminalität, Verbesserung der ökologischen Situation, Erhöhung der kulturellen Vielfalt der EU, Erhöhung der Einwanderung in das Vereinigte Königreich, erschwerte Bekämpfung des organisierten Verbrechens, keine Auswirkungen auf das Leben der Menschen, Selbsteinschätzung der Informiertheit über die EU-Erweiterung. Demographie: Geschlecht; Alter; Alter bei Beendigung der Ausbildung; Beruf; berufliche Stellung; Region; Urbanisierungsgrad. Zusätzlich verkodet wurde: Land; Interviewer-ID; Interviewdauer (Interviewbeginn und Interviewende); Gewichtungsfaktor.

Over the course of the Second World War approximately 127.2 million people were mobilized. The world's population in 1940 was roughly 2.3 billion, meaning that between five and six percent of the world was drafted into the military in some capacity. Approximately one in every 25 people mobilized were women, who generally served in an administrative or medical role, although hundreds of thousands of women did see active combat. Largest armies In absolute numbers, the Soviet Union mobilized the largest number of people at just under 34.5 million, and this included roughly 35 percent of the USSR's male population. By the war's end, more Soviets were mobilized than all European Axis powers combined. However, in relative terms, it was Germany who mobilized the largest share of its male population, with approximately 42 percent of men serving. The USSR was forced to find a balance between reinforcing its frontlines and maintaining agricultural and military production to supply its army (in addition to those in annexed territory after 1941), whereas a large share of soldiers taken from the German workforce were replaced by workers drafted or forcibly taken from other countries (including concentration camp prisoners and PoWs). Studying the figures The figures given in these statistics are a very simplified and rounded overview - in reality, there were many nuances in the number of people who were effectively mobilized for each country, their roles, and their status as auxiliary, collaborative, or resistance forces. The British Empire is the only power where distinctions are made between the metropole and its colonies or territories, whereas breakdowns of those who fought in other parts of Asia or Africa remains unclear. Additionally, when comparing this data with total fatalities, it is important to account for the civilian death toll, i.e. those who were not mobilized.