World War II Casualties, Table

▪ Table

military

civilian estimated

country killed, died prisoners deaths due total

of wounds, or wounded or to war deaths

in prison{1} missing{2}

Allied Powers

Belgium 12,000 — — 76,000 88,000

Brazil 943 4,222 — — 1,000

British Commonwealth 373,372 475,047 251,724{3} 92,673 466,000

Australia 23,365 39,803 32,393 — 24,000

Canada 37,476 53,174 10,888 — 38,000

India 24,338 64,354 91,243 — —

New Zealand 10,033 19,314 10,582 — 10,000

South Africa 6,840 14,363 16,430 — 7,000

United Kingdom 264,443 277,077 213,919 92,673{4} 357,000

Colonies 6,877 6,972 22,323 — 7,000

China{5} 1,310,224 1,752,951 115,248 — —

Czechoslovakia{6} 10,000 — — 215,000 225,000

Denmark 1,800 — — 2,000{7} 4,000

France{8} 213,324 400,000 — 350,000 563,000

Greece{9} 88,300 — — 325,000 413,000

Netherlands 7,900 2,860 — 200,000 208,000

Norway 3,000 — — 7,000 10,000

Poland{10} 123,178 236,606 420,760 5,675,000 5,800,000

Philippines 27,000 — — 91,000 118,000

United States{11} 292,131 671,801 139,709 6,000 298,000

U.S.S.R.{12} 11,000,000 — — 7,000,000 18,000,000

Yugoslavia 305,000 425,000 — 1,200,000 1,505,000

Axis Powers

Bulgaria{13} 10,000 — — 10,000 20,000

Finland 82,000 50,000 — 2,000 84,000

Germany{14} 3,500,000 5,000,000 3,400,000 780,000 4,200,000

Hungary{13} 200,000 — 170,000 290,000 490,000

Italy{15} 242,232 66,000 350,000 152,941 395,000

Japan 1,300,000{16} 4,000,000 810,000 672,000 1,972,000

Romania{13} 300,000 — 100,000 200,000 500,000

{1}Figures for deaths, insofar as possible, exclude those who died of natural causes or were suicides. {2}As far as possible the

figures in this column exclude those who died in captivity. {3}Figures for all Commonwealth nations include those still missing

in 1946, some of whom may be presumed dead. {4}This figure comprises 60,595 killed in aerial bombardment, 30,248 in the

merchant marine service, 624 in women's auxiliary services, and 1,206 in the Home Guard. {5}The figures for China comprise

casualties of the Chinese Nationalist forces during 1937-45, as reported in 1946, and do not include figures for local armies

and Communists. Estimates of 2,200,000 military dead and 22,000,000 civilian deaths appear in some compilations but are of

doubtful accuracy. {6}Czech military figures include only those who fought on the Allied side, not Sudeten Germans and others

who served in the German Army. {7}Includes merchant marine personnel who served with Allies. {8}French military casualties

include those dead from all causes in the campaign of 1939-40, those of Free French, of rearmed French units that fought

with Allies during 1942-45, and of French units that fought with Axis forces in Syria and North Africa during 1941-42 (1,200

dead). {9}These figures released in 1946 are possibly too high. Merchant seamen are included with military dead. {10}Military

figures drawn from statement released by Polish government in 1946 and include casualties in the campaign of 1939, those of

the underground, of Polish forces serving with British and Soviet armies, and those incurred in the Warsaw uprising. Civilian

casualty figures, which include 3,200,000 Jews, are based on this statement as modified by the calculations of population

experts. {11}Military figures include those of Army Ground and Air Forces, and those of the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard.

There were an additional 115,187 deaths of U.S. servicemen from non-battle causes. Civilians listed in 1946 as dead or

missing include 5,638 of the merchant marine service. {12}Available estimates of Soviet casualties vary widely. A Soviet officer

who served with the high command in Berlin and left the Soviet service in 1949 placed total military losses at 13,600,000—

8,500,000 dead or missing in battle; 2,600,000 dead in prison camps; 2,500,000 died of wounds—and estimated civilian

casualties at 7,000,000. These figures have been widely accepted in Germany, but most U.S. compilations, based on Soviet

announcements, list 6,000,000 to 7,500,000 battle deaths. Calculations made on the basis of population distribution by age and

sex in the 1959 U.S.S.R. census give some credence to the higher figures, for they seem to indicate losses of from 15,000,000 to

20,000,000 males of military age in World War II. The figures used here are a compromise estimate, not intended to obscure

the fact that Soviet casualties are, in reality, unknown in the West. {13}Estimates based on fragmentary data. {14}Military

estimates include men from outside Germany who served with the German armed forces and are based on the assumption

that about 1,000,000 of the 1,250,000 men still listed as missing in Soviet territory in 1955 were dead. In addition, perhaps

250,000 military personnel died of natural causes, committed suicide, or were executed. Civilian figures are for Germany and

Austria only, and they do not include an estimated 2,384,000 German deaths during 1944-46 resulting from Soviet invasion

and forced transfers of population in the eastern provinces given to Poland after the war. {15}Figures for dead include those

listed as still missing in compilation made by the Italian government in 1952 (131,419 military personnel and 3,651 civilians),

but not 49,144 military deaths from natural causes or suicide. Known dead from enemy action amounted to 110,823, making

a total of 159,957 military deaths from all causes if the missing are not included. Of this number, 92,767 occurred before the

1943 Armistice, 67,190 afterward. {16}Based on an estimate of 1,600,000 total military deaths on the assumption that about

half of those listed as missing in Soviet territory in 1949 were dead. About 300,000 of these probably resulted from causes not

related to battle.

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