World War II Casualties by Country 2022

The Second World War was the bloodiest and most extensive war in human history. World War II, often known as WWII or WW2, was a global conflict that pitted the Axis powers, headed by Germany, Italy, and Japan, against the Allies, led by the United States and the Soviet Union.

Nearly every nation on Earth was forced to join one of these two military alliances.

More least 100 million (and maybe as many as 300 million) people enlisted in the war effort between September 1939 and August/September 1945.

Many were never seen again. Because of the shifting boundaries, population shifts, and the large number of troops killed, injured, captured, or proclaimed missing in action, it’s hard to know exactly how many people died in World War II in most countries.

According to the most recent estimates, between 70 million and 85 million people were killed in World War II. Approximately 3-3.7 percent of the world’s population at the time of the estimate.

Over twice as many civilians perished in World War II as military personnel. Between 21 million and 25.5 million persons are estimated to have died due to military service.

Comparatively, military and war crimes account for 29 to 30.5 million civilian fatalities, while starvation and disease-related deaths total 19 to 28 million.

The following nations suffered the most casualties during World War II

Soviet Union (20-27 million), China (15-20 million), Germany (6-7.3 million), Poland (5.9-6 million), the Netherlands East Indies/Indonesia (3-4 million), Japan (2.5-3.1 million), India (2.2-3 million), Yugoslavia (1-1.7 million), French Indochina (Laos, Cambodia, part of Vietnam) (1-2.2 million), and France are the countries with the highest estimated World War II casualties: (600,000).

The Soviet Union lost the most soldiers during World War II. In all, up to 27 million Soviet citizens perished, including up to 11.4 million service members, 10 million civilians, and an additional 8 to 9 million through illness and starvation.

In addition, more than 14 million Soviet troops were injured in action. Russia was the most hit of the 15 Soviet republics, with 6,750,000 military and 7,200,000 civilian fatalities. Military fatalities were 1,650,000, while civilian deaths totaled 5,200,000 in Ukraine.

According to official estimates, China suffered the second-highest toll of all nations during World War II. Up to 20 million Chinese citizens, including up to 3.75 million soldiers, and 18.19 million civilians, perished during the Cultural Revolution.

Also See: Which Countries Did Germany Invade During World War 2?

Due to starvation and illness, some scholars feel that the total number of civilian deaths in China and the Soviet Union may be greatly understated.

As many as 7.4 million Germans were killed in World War II, making it the third-largest death toll in history. 3.2 million Jews perished in Nazi concentration and execution camps in Poland, according to official estimates.

Here is a breakdown of the estimated death toll in each country currently engaged in the conflict.