Since 1800, more than 37 million people worldwide have died while actively fighting in wars.

The number would be much higher still if it also considered the civilians who died due to the fighting, the increased number of deaths from hunger and disease resulting from these conflicts, and the deaths in smaller conflicts that are not considered wars.1

Wars are also terrible in many other ways: they make people’s lives insecure, lower their living standards, destroy the environment, and, if fought between countries armed with nuclear weapons, can be an existential threat to humanity.

Looking at the news alone, it can be difficult to understand whether more or less people are dying as a result of war than in the past. One has to rely on statistics that are carefully collected so that they can be compared over time.

While every war is a tragedy, the data suggests that fewer people died in conflicts in recent decades than in most of the 20th century. Countries have also built more peaceful relations between and within them.

How many wars are avoided, and whether the trend of fewer deaths in them continues, is up to our own actions. Conflict deaths recently increased in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, stressing that the future of these trends is uncertain.

Dataset Description:

This dataset offers insights into countries experiencing ongoing conflicts, providing estimates of fatalities resulting from these conflicts across various years. It serves as a valuable resource for understanding the global landscape of conflict and its human toll.

Measuring armed conflicts and conflict deaths across the world helps us understand how people’s lives and livelihoods are affected by large-scale violence.

But this comes with many challenges. People do not always agree on what characteristics define an armed conflict. Even once defined, these characteristics — especially how many people died in them — are difficult to assess.

The people affected are not always asked who has died around them due to the conflict.

The conflict parties may underreport deaths to claim success, or overreport them to encourage intervention by third parties.

Independent observers may also struggle to be present in all places and document a conflict’s death toll.

So how do researchers address these challenges?

In our work on War and Peace, we provide data from six sources that identify armed conflicts and count their deaths:

Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP)1 Project Mars by Jason Lyall (2022)2 Militarized Interstate Events by Douglas Gibler and Steven Miller3 Correlates of War (CoW)4 Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)5 Conflict Catalog by Peter Brecke (1999)6 These sources all measure armed conflicts and their deaths; they cover many countries and years, and researchers and policymakers frequently use them.

Colombia CO: Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data was reported at 87.000 Person in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 107.000 Person for 2022. Colombia CO: Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data is updated yearly, averaging 398.000 Person from Dec 1989 (Median) to 2023, with 34 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3,392.000 Person in 2002 and a record low of 23.000 Person in 2020. Colombia CO: Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Battle-related deaths are deaths in battle-related conflicts between warring parties in the conflict dyad (two conflict units that are parties to a conflict). Typically, battle-related deaths occur in warfare involving the armed forces of the warring parties. This includes traditional battlefield fighting, guerrilla activities, and all kinds of bombardments of military units, cities, and villages, etc. The targets are usually the military itself and its installations or state institutions and state representatives, but there is often substantial collateral damage in the form of civilians being killed in crossfire, in indiscriminate bombings, etc. All deaths--military as well as civilian--incurred in such situations, are counted as battle-related deaths.;Uppsala Conflict Data Program, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/.;Sum;

The American Civil War is the conflict with the largest number of American military fatalities in history. In fact, the Civil War's death toll is comparable to all other major wars combined, the deadliest of which were the World Wars, which have a combined death toll of more than 520,000 American fatalities. The ongoing series of conflicts and interventions in the Middle East and North Africa, collectively referred to as the War on Terror in the west, has a combined death toll of more than 7,000 for the U.S. military since 2001. Other records In terms of the number of deaths per day, the American Civil War is still at the top, with an average of 425 deaths per day, while the First and Second World Wars have averages of roughly 100 and 200 fatalities per day respectively. Technically, the costliest battle in U.S. military history was the Battle of Elsenborn Ridge, which was a part of the Battle of the Bulge in the Second World War, and saw upwards of 5,000 deaths over 10 days. However, the Battle of Gettysburg had more military fatalities of American soldiers, with almost 3,200 Union deaths and over 3,900 Confederate deaths, giving a combined total of more than 7,000. The Battle of Antietam is viewed as the bloodiest day in American military history, with over 3,600 combined fatalities and almost 23,000 total casualties on September 17, 1862. Revised Civil War figures For more than a century, the total death toll of the American Civil War was generally accepted to be around 620,000, a number which was first proposed by Union historians William F. Fox and Thomas L. Livermore in 1888. This number was calculated by using enlistment figures, battle reports, and census data, however many prominent historians since then have thought the number should be higher. In 2011, historian J. David Hacker conducted further investigations and claimed that the number was closer to 750,000 (and possibly as high as 850,000). While many Civil War historians agree that this is possible, and even likely, obtaining consistently accurate figures has proven to be impossible until now; both sides were poor at keeping detailed records throughout the war, and much of the Confederacy's records were lost by the war's end. Many Confederate widows also did not register their husbands death with the authorities, as they would have then been ineligible for benefits.

Data Description: Since 1800, more than 37 million people worldwide have died while actively fighting in wars.

The number would be much higher still if it also considered the civilians who died due to the fighting, the increased number of deaths from hunger and disease resulting from these conflicts, and the deaths in smaller conflicts that are not considered wars.

Wars are also terrible in many other ways: they make people’s lives insecure, lower their living standards, destroy the environment, and, if fought between countries armed with nuclear weapons, can be an existential threat to humanity.

Looking at the news alone, it can be difficult to understand whether more or less people are dying as a result of war than in the past. One has to rely on statistics that are carefully collected so that they can be compared over time.

How many wars are avoided, and whether the trend of fewer deaths in them continues, is up to our own actions. Conflict deaths recently increased in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, stressing that the future of these trends is uncertain.

In this dataset, there are 6 csv files in one zip one. Everything is clear but if you have any question, feel free to ask. Good luck.

This dataset belongs to Ourworldindata By: Bastian Herre, Lucas Rodés-Guirao, Max Roser, Joe Hasell and Bobbie Macdonald

Central African Republic CF: Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data was reported at 261.000 Person in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 675.000 Person for 2022. Central African Republic CF: Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data is updated yearly, averaging 88.000 Person from Dec 2001 (Median) to 2023, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 906.000 Person in 2021 and a record low of 27.000 Person in 2015. Central African Republic CF: Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Central African Republic – Table CF.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Battle-related deaths are deaths in battle-related conflicts between warring parties in the conflict dyad (two conflict units that are parties to a conflict). Typically, battle-related deaths occur in warfare involving the armed forces of the warring parties. This includes traditional battlefield fighting, guerrilla activities, and all kinds of bombardments of military units, cities, and villages, etc. The targets are usually the military itself and its installations or state institutions and state representatives, but there is often substantial collateral damage in the form of civilians being killed in crossfire, in indiscriminate bombings, etc. All deaths--military as well as civilian--incurred in such situations, are counted as battle-related deaths.;Uppsala Conflict Data Program, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/.;Sum;

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.

Afghanistan Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data was reported at 230.000 Person in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 917.000 Person for 2023. Afghanistan Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data is updated yearly, averaging 5,552.000 Person from Mar 1990 (Median) to 2024, with 35 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 35,787.000 Person in 2022 and a record low of 230.000 Person in 2024. Afghanistan Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Afghanistan – Table AF.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Battle-related deaths are deaths in battle-related conflicts between warring parties in the conflict dyad (two conflict units that are parties to a conflict). Typically, battle-related deaths occur in warfare involving the armed forces of the warring parties. This includes traditional battlefield fighting, guerrilla activities, and all kinds of bombardments of military units, cities, and villages, etc. The targets are usually the military itself and its installations or state institutions and state representatives, but there is often substantial collateral damage in the form of civilians being killed in crossfire, in indiscriminate bombings, etc. All deaths--military as well as civilian--incurred in such situations, are counted as battle-related deaths.;Uppsala Conflict Data Program, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/.;Sum;

Since 1800, more than 37 million people worldwide have died while actively fighting in wars.

The number would be much higher still if it also considered the civilians who died due to the fighting, the increased number of deaths from hunger and disease resulting from these conflicts, and the deaths in smaller conflicts that are not considered wars.1

Wars are also terrible in many other ways: they make people’s lives insecure, lower their living standards, destroy the environment, and, if fought between countries armed with nuclear weapons, can be an existential threat to humanity.

Looking at the news alone, it can be difficult to understand whether more or less people are dying as a result of war than in the past. One has to rely on statistics that are carefully collected so that they can be compared over time.

While every war is a tragedy, the data suggests that fewer people died in conflicts in recent decades than in most of the 20th century. Countries have also built more peaceful relations between and within them.

How many wars are avoided, and whether the trend of fewer deaths in them continues, is up to our own actions. Conflict deaths recently increased in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, stressing that the future of these trends is uncertain.

Original Data

Acknowlegement

Foto von UX Gun auf Unsplash

Israel IL: Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data was reported at 1,671.000 Person in 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 64.000 Person for 2012. Israel IL: Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data is updated yearly, averaging 74.000 Person from Dec 1989 (Median) to 2014, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,671.000 Person in 2014 and a record low of 5.000 Person in 1989. Israel IL: Battle-Related Deaths: Number of People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Israel – Table IL.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Battle-related deaths are deaths in battle-related conflicts between warring parties in the conflict dyad (two conflict units that are parties to a conflict). Typically, battle-related deaths occur in warfare involving the armed forces of the warring parties. This includes traditional battlefield fighting, guerrilla activities, and all kinds of bombardments of military units, cities, and villages, etc. The targets are usually the military itself and its installations or state institutions and state representatives, but there is often substantial collateral damage in the form of civilians being killed in crossfire, in indiscriminate bombings, etc. All deaths--military as well as civilian--incurred in such situations, are counted as battle-related deaths.; ; Uppsala Conflict Data Program, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/.; Sum;

Since 1800, more than 37 million people worldwide have died while actively fighting in wars.

The number would be much higher still if it also considered the civilians who died due to the fighting, the increased number of deaths from hunger and disease resulting from these conflicts, and the deaths in smaller conflicts that are not considered wars.1

Wars are also terrible in many other ways: they make people’s lives insecure, lower their living standards, destroy the environment, and, if fought between countries armed with nuclear weapons, can be an existential threat to humanity.

Looking at the news alone, it can be difficult to understand whether more or less people are dying as a result of war than in the past. One has to rely on statistics that are carefully collected so that they can be compared over time.

While every war is a tragedy, the data suggests that fewer people died in conflicts in recent decades than in most of the 20th century. Countries have also built more peaceful relations between and within them.

How many wars are avoided, and whether the trend of fewer deaths in them continues, is up to our own actions. Conflict deaths recently increased in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, stressing that the future of these trends is uncertain.

On this page, you can find data, visualizations, and writing on how common war and peace are between and within countries, and how this has changed over time.

Of the ten deadliest battles of the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg in early July, 1863, was by far the most devastating battle of the war, claiming over 51 thousand casualties, of which 7 thousand were battle deaths. The Battles of Shiloh, Bull Run (Second), Antietam, Stones River and Chancellorsville all have very similar casualty counts, between 22.5 and 24 thousand casualties each, although it should be noted that the Battle of Antietam took place in a single day, and with 22,717 casualties it is the bloodiest day in U.S. history. The Battles of Chickamauga, the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, all had approximately 30 to 35 thousand casualties each, whereas the Siege of Vicksburg is the only entry on this list with less than 20 thousand casualties.

The Battle of Gettysburg, at the beginning of July 1863, was the largest and costliest battle of the American Civil War, and is often regarded as the turning point in the war. Confederate General Robert E. Lee sought to capitalize on his victories earlier in the year, such as the Battle of Chancellorsville, by launching his second invasion of the northern states. He did this in order to alleviate the pressure on the Virginia farmland, which had been ravaged by the preceding campaigns, and also in an attempt to force the Union into negotiations to end the war. In June, General Lee's forces marched through Virginia, into Pennsylvania, and were pursued by Union forces led by Major General Joseph Hooker, and later Maj. Gen. George G. Meade. The Battle of Gettysburg The armies met near the town of Gettysburg, PA, on the morning of July 1. In the first day of fighting, the Confederates won control of much of the area surrounding the town, while the Union held the lands to the south. On the second day, reinforcements arrived on both sides, and while the Confederate forces tried flanking the entrenched and heavily defended Union forces, they had limited success. At 1pm on the third day of battle, General Lee launched what was probably the largest artillery bombardment of the entire war, and two hours later he ordered Pickett's Charge, which saw roughly 12,500 Confederate troops charge the Union forces entrenched on Cemetery Ridge. The bombardment had little effect on the Union defenses, and the oncoming soldiers suffered heavy casualties before being forced to retreat, marking an end to the battle and a victory for the Union. Gettysburg has been described as the bloodiest battle of the war, as, not only were the casualties higher than any other battle, but the depletion of ammunition stocks led to much close-quarters, hand-to-hand combat on the final day. Legacy Over 165,000 men took part in the Battle of Gettysburg, with roughly one third becoming casualties. More than 7,000 men died in the fighting, and a further 33,000 were wounded. The battle also saw the deaths of six Confederate and five Union generals, more than any other battle in the war. Although the war would not end for another two years, this battle is seen by many as the turning point, and as the closest that the Confederacy came to accomplishing their goal of complete cessation from the Union. Prior to this, the Confederacy had won more decisive battles than the Union, but after Gettysburg this shifted in favor of the Union, who would go on to win the war in 1865. Four months after the battle, President Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address, which paid tribute to the men who fell in the battle, and has gone on to become one of the most famous speeches in American history.

Title: Monthly War Data on WWI and WWII (Synthetic)

Description: This dataset provides a synthetic month-by-month, country-level representation of key metrics during World War I and World War II. It encompasses key nations involved in the conflicts and aims to showcase patterns and events influenced by historical timelines.

Key Features:

Year: The year of the data entry. Month: The month of the data entry. Country: The nation in focus. The dataset includes the USA, UK, Germany, USSR/Russia, and France. War Status: A binary variable indicating if the war was ongoing for that nation during that month (1 for Yes, 0 for No). Civilian Deaths: An estimated count of civilian deaths during that month. Military Deaths: An estimated count of military deaths during that month. Economic Impact Factor: A fictional index from 0 to 100 indicating the economic strain on the nation (a higher score indicates more strain). Population: Estimated population of the nation during that month. Note:

The data provided in this dataset is synthetically generated and is influenced by historical events and timelines. However, it is not an accurate representation of actual events and should be used with caution for analytical purposes. It is primarily designed for educational and illustrative tasks, allowing users to practice data analysis techniques in a historically-inspired context.

More than 3,500 people were killed as a result of the Troubles in Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1998. Of these, over 1,500 were from Northern Ireland's Catholic community, while just under 1,300 were from the Protestant community. Of the 722 people not from Northern Ireland who were killed in the conflict, over 500 were killed in Northern Ireland, while 120 were killed in Britain, 83 were killed in the Republic of Ireland, and 14 were killed elsewhere in Europe.

Internally displaced persons are defined according to the 1998 Guiding Principles (http://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/1998/ocha-guiding-principles-on-internal-displacement) as people or groups of people who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of armed conflict, or to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights, or natural or human-made disasters and who have not crossed an international border.

"People Displaced" refers to the number of people living in displacement as of the end of each year.

"New Displacement" refers to the number of new cases or incidents of displacement recorded, rather than the number of people displaced. This is done because people may have been displaced more than once.

Contains data from IDMC's Global Internal Displacement Database.

Internally displaced persons are defined according to the 1998 Guiding Principles (http://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/1998/ocha-guiding-principles-on-internal-displacement) as people or groups of people who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of armed conflict, or to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights, or natural or human-made disasters and who have not crossed an international border.

"People Displaced" refers to the number of people living in displacement as of the end of each year.

"New Displacement" refers to the number of new cases or incidents of displacement recorded, rather than the number of people displaced. This is done because people may have been displaced more than once.

Contains data from IDMC's Global Internal Displacement Database.

Internally displaced persons are defined according to the 1998 Guiding Principles (http://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/1998/ocha-guiding-principles-on-internal-displacement) as people or groups of people who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of armed conflict, or to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights, or natural or human-made disasters and who have not crossed an international border.

"People Displaced" refers to the number of people living in displacement as of the end of each year.

"New Displacement" refers to the number of new cases or incidents of displacement recorded, rather than the number of people displaced. This is done because people may have been displaced more than once.

Contains data from IDMC's Global Internal Displacement Database.

Internally displaced persons are defined according to the 1998 Guiding Principles (http://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/1998/ocha-guiding-principles-on-internal-displacement) as people or groups of people who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of armed conflict, or to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights, or natural or human-made disasters and who have not crossed an international border.

"People Displaced" refers to the number of people living in displacement as of the end of each year.

"New Displacement" refers to the number of new cases or incidents of displacement recorded, rather than the number of people displaced. This is done because people may have been displaced more than once.

Contains data from IDMC's Global Internal Displacement Database.

Content

This dataset contain data about armed conflict locations & event data in Saudi Arabia from the beginning of 2016 until mid April 2019. The 'fatalities' feature can be used as a target to model for predictions.

Acknowledgements

We thank ACLED for providing this data. Find ACLED here.

Inspiration

How many fatalities based on event type and subtype? What to expect when each actor is involved in conflict? What regions are impacted the most? What are the events that manifest more fatalities? Can we model and predict fatalities based on the features we have?

Licence

Non-Commercial Licenses - ACLED’s full dataset is available for use free of charge by noncommercial entities and organizations (e.g., non-profit organizations, government agencies, academic institutions) using the data for non-commercial purposes, subject to these Terms of Use. Non-commercial licenses may also be granted to for-profit media outlets or journalists
citing ACLED’s content in works of journalism; provided that such works are made available to the general public and benefit public discourse on the topic, subject to ACLED’s prior, written approval.