This Country Suffered Over 26 Million Casualties in World War II

Thankfully, the world hasn’t had to face another conflict on the catastrophic scale of World War II. While eight decades have now passed, however, repercussions continue to reverberate around the world today. This is in part due to the unbelievable number of casualties, both soldier and civilian. The United States, for example, suffered 418,500 casualties, with another 418,500 lives lost. However, these numbers pale in comparison to the numbers lost by many other nations during the war.

Over 75 million people died over the course of World War II, making it the bloodiest conflict in the history of the world. Soldiers laid down their lives in service of their countries with the hope of making a better world for generations to come. The peace that came from this war has largely held, and while there may be conflicts ongoing around the world — such as in Israel or Ukraine — these tend to be localized and not even close to the scale that was World War II. (These are World War II’s biggest battles.)

Although most conflicts took place in the European and Pacific Theaters, WWII’s battles were widespread fighting across the globe. Countries like New Zealand and South Africa also saw this conflict reach them in some form or fashion. (This country mobilized the most troops during WWII.)

Here 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at the casualties from World War II. To identify the countries with the most casualties in World War II, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed WWII casualty statistics from World War 2 Facts, an online database of WWII battles. We ranked countries based on total casualties. We included supplemental information regarding military deaths for each country as well as civilian deaths.

Why Are We Covering This?

World War II was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history with unprecedented deaths and casualties. The outcome of this war largely determined the world we know today, along with many of the current geopolitical and military relationships. Understanding how these countries were impacted by World War II and the casualties that resulted from it provides context for these alliances and greater insight into international relations in general.

Here is a look at the countries with the most casualties in World War II:

27. Denmark

• Total casualties: 3,200
• Military deaths: 2,100
• Civilian deaths: 1,000

26. Norway

Norwegian World War II Resistance Home Forces armband (armbind brukt av Hjemmestyrkene) displayed at Norway's Resistance Museum in Oslo, photo 2017-11-30 (BY-SA 4.0) by Wolfmann

• Total casualties: 9,500
• Military deaths: 3,000
• Civilian deaths: 5,800

25. New Zealand

• Total casualties: 11,900
• Military deaths: 11,900
• Civilian deaths: 0

24. South Africa

• Total casualties: 11,900
• Military deaths: 11,900
• Civilian deaths: 0

23. Spain

• Total casualties: 14,500
• Military deaths: 4,500
• Civilian deaths: 10,000

22. Bulgaria

• Total casualties: 25,000
• Military deaths: 22,000
• Civilian deaths: 3,000

21. Australia

• Total casualties: 40,500
• Military deaths: 39,800
• Civilian deaths: 0

20. Canada

• Total casualties: 45,300
• Military deaths: 45,300
• Civilian deaths: 0

19. Belgium

• Total casualties: 86,100
• Military deaths: 12,100
• Civilian deaths: 49,600

18. Finland

Finnish Stug III (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Andrey Korchagin

• Total casualties: 97,000
• Military deaths: 95,000
• Civilian deaths: 2,000

17. Netherlands

• Total casualties: 301,000
• Military deaths: 21,000
• Civilian deaths: 176,000

16. Czechoslovakia

• Total casualties: 345,000
• Military deaths: 25,000
• Civilian deaths: 320,000

15. Austria

War cemetery for World war II on the cemetery Matzleinsdorf in Vienna, Austria-full oblique uppder PNru00b00627 (BY-SA 4.0) by D-Kuru

• Total casualties: 384,700
• Military deaths: 261,000
• Civilian deaths: 58,700

14. United States

• Total casualties: 418,500
• Military deaths: 416,800
• Civilian deaths: 1,700

13. Great Britain

• Total casualties: 449,800
• Military deaths: 382,700
• Civilian deaths: 67,100

12. Italy

• Total casualties: 456,000
• Military deaths: 301,400
• Civilian deaths: 145,100

11. Greece

World War II memorial in Kalami (Boeotia), Greece, September 2022 02 (BY-SA 4.0) by Calistemon

• Total casualties: 560,000
• Military deaths: 35,000
• Civilian deaths: 525,000

10. France

Vintage World War II Photograph - Photo Of Two World War II-Era American Soldiers With A Dog, Likely France In 1944 Based On Other Dated Photos Found With This Photo (BY-SA 2.0) by France1978

• Total casualties: 567,600
• Military deaths: 217,600
• Civilian deaths: 267,000

9. Hungary

• Total casualties: 580,000
• Military deaths: 300,000
• Civilian deaths: 280,000

8. Germany

• Total casualties: 772,800
• Military deaths: 5,533,000
• Civilian deaths: 2,035,000

7. Romania

• Total casualties: 833,000
• Military deaths: 300,000
• Civilian deaths: 64,000

6. Yugoslavia

Hungarian soldiers in WWII (BY 2.0) by Cassowary Colorizations

• Total casualties: 1,027,000
• Military deaths: 446,000
• Civilian deaths: 514,000

5. India

• Total casualties: 2,087,000
• Military deaths: 87,000
• Civilian deaths: 2,000,000

4. Japan

• Total casualties: 2,700,000
• Military deaths: 2,120,000
• Civilian deaths: 580,000

3. Poland

• Total casualties: 5,700,000
• Military deaths: 240,000
• Civilian deaths: 2,400,000

2. China

• Total casualties: 15,000,000
• Military deaths: 3,500,000
• Civilian deaths: 11,500,000

1. Soviet Union

• Total casualties: 26,600,000
• Military deaths: 9,750,000
• Civilian deaths: 13,204,000