Here are the raw numbers:
| Country | Event | Years | Deaths ('000s) | Population ('000s) | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SW Africa | Herero War | 1904-07 | 75 | 200 | 38% |
| Cambodia | Pol Pot | 1975-79 | 1,670 | 7,890 | 21% |
| Congo F.S. | Leopold | 1888-1908 | 3,000 | 15,000 | 20% |
| Poland | WW2 | 1939-45 | 5,400 | 27,200 | 20% |
| Equat'l Guinea | Nguermo | 1972-79 | 50 | 279 | 18% |
| Turkey | WW1 | 1914-18 | 2,475 | 16,000 | 15% |
| Serbia | WW1 | 1914-18 | 695 | 5,500 | 13% |
| USSR | Stalin | 1923-53 | 20,000 | 162,000 | 12% |
| USSR | WW2 | 1939-45 | 18,000 | 162,000 | 11% |
| Afghanistan | Civil War | 1979-95 | 1,500 | 15,100 | 10% |
| Yugoslavia | WW2 | 1939-45 | 1,600 | 15,800 | 10% |
| North Korea | Korean War | 1950-53 | 700 | 7,236 | 10% |
| Mexico | Revolution | 1910-20 | 1,500 | 15,200 | 10% |
| Bulgaria | WW1 | 1915-18 | 351 | 4,020 | 9% |
| Liberia | Civil War | 1989-93 | 175 | 2,000 | 9% |
| Romania | WW1 | 1915-18 | 611 | 6,850 | 9% |
| Rwanda | Genocide | 1995-96 | 500 | 5,400 | 9% |
| Lybia | Sanusi | 1911-31 | 100 | 1,200 | 8% |
| Somalia | Civil War | 1991-97 | 350 | 4,600 | 8% |
| Sudan | Civil War | 1983-97 | 1,500 | 19,900 | 8% |
| S. Vietnam | Vietnam War | 1965-73 | 1,050 | 15,700 | 7% |
| Germany | WW2 | 1939-45 | 5,260 | 76,800 | 7% |
| Romania | WW2 | 1940-45 | 900 | 15,300 | 6% |
| Mozambique | Civil War | 1975-95 | 800 | 12,700 | 6% |
| Lebanon | Civil War | 1975-95 | 150 | 2,437 | 6% |
| Angola | Civil War | 1975-94 | 400 | 6,800 | 6% |
| Russia | Civil War | 1917-20 | 6,000 | 108,200 | 6% |
| Poland | post-WW2 | 1945-47 | 1,400 | 23,900 | 6% |
| Burundi | Genocide | 1972-73 | 130 | 2,650 | 5% |
| Greece | WW1 | 1915-18 | 137 | 2,600 | 5% |
| China | Mao | 1949-75 | 40,000 | 735,000 | 5% |
| Paraguay | Chaco War | 1932-35 | 50 | 1,100 | 5% |
| Ethiopia | Civil War | 1962-91 | 1,400 | 30,500 | 5% |
| Greece | WW2 | 1939-45 | 350 | 7,300 | 5% |
Don't take my word for it. You can fiddle with the numbers all you want. You can slide them up or down the margin of error. You can decide that some of these outrages happened a lot faster than others, so maybe we should determine the percentage killed per year instead of the percentage killed overall.
You might decide that nations are not the proper unit of measurement. Instead, we should determine the percentage of the effected group (as in 2/3 of European Jews) or region (as in 1/3 of the population of East Timor).
The problem is, with each manipulation of the data, it becomes more likely that we are merely trying to cook up some numbers to support our preconceptions. Therefore, it's probably best to keep it simple. "The Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia led to the death of 1/10 of the population," and "Pol Pot killed 1/5 of the people in Cambodia" are a lot easier to understand and explain than "seen as a percentage of the non-belligerent population of domestic ethnic groups killed per year, [fill-in] was the most brutal regime of the 20th Century, followed distantly by [fill-in]".
| Country | Event | Years | Culture or Race | Religion | Regime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SW Africa | Herero War | 1904-07 | European colony in Africa | Christian v. Tribal | Constitutional monarchy |
| Cambodia | Pol Pot | 1975-79 | Asian | Atheist v. Buddhist | Communist |
| Congo F.S. | Leopold | 1888-1908 | European colony in Africa | Christian v. Tribal | Private Property |
| Poland | WW2 | 1939-45 | European | Christian | Conquered by Fascists |
| Equat'l Guinea | Nguermo | 1972-79 | African | Christian, Tribal | Authoritarian |
| Turkey | WW1 | 1914-18 | Middle East | Moslem v. Christian | Monarchy |
| Serbia | WW1 | 1914-18 | European | Christian | Monarchy |
| USSR | Stalin | 1923-53 | European | Atheist | Communist |
| USSR | WW2 | 1939-45 | European | Atheist | Invaded by Fascists |
| Afghanistan | Civil War | 1979-95 | Middle East | Moslem | Unstable Communist |
| Yugoslavia | WW2 | 1939-45 | European | Christian | Conquered by Fascists |
| North Korea | Korean War | 1950-53 | Asian | Atheist | Communist |
| Mexico | Revolution | 1910-20 | Latin American | Christian | Authoritarian |
| Bulgaria | WW1 | 1915-18 | European | Christian | Monarchy |
| Liberia | Civil War | 1989-93 | African | Christian, Tribal | Authoritarian |
| Romania | WW1 | 1915-18 | European | Christian | Monarchy |
| Rwanda | Genocide | 1995-96 | African | Christian, Tribal | Authoritarian |
| Libya | Sanusi | 1911-31 | European colony in North Africa | Christian v. Moslem | Constituional monarchy, later Fascist |
| Somalia | Civil War | 1991-97 | African | Moslem | Authoritarian |
| Sudan | Civil War | 1983-97 | African | Moslem v. Christian, Tribal | Authoritarian |
| S. Vietnam | Vietnam War | 1965-73 | Asian | Atheist v. Buddhist, Christian | Communist v. Authoritarian |
| Germany | WW2 | 1939-45 | European | Christian, neo-Teutonic Occultist | Fascist |
| Romania | WW2 | 1940-45 | European | Christian | Fascist |
| Mozambique | Civil War | 1975-95 | African | Christian, Tribal | Authoritarian |
| Lebanon | Civil War | 1975-95 | Middle East | Christian v. Moslem | Democracy |
| Angola | Civil War | 1975-94 | African | Christian, Tribal | Authoritarian |
| Russia | Civil War | 1917-20 | European | Christian | Communist v. Authoritarian |
| Poland | post-WW2 | 1945-47 | European | Christian | Democracy |
| Burundi | Genocide | 1972-73 | African | Christian, Tribal | Authoritarian |
| Greece | WW1 | 1915-18 | European | Christian | Monarchy |
| China | Mao | 1949-75 | Asian | Atheist v. Traditional | Communist |
| Paraguay | Chaco War | 1932-35 | Latin American | Christian | Authoritarian |
| Ethiopia | Civil War | 1962-91 | African | Christian v. Moslem | Monarchy, Unstable Communist |
| Greece | WW2 | 1939-45 | European | Christian | conquered by Fascists |
Last updated September 1998
Copyright © 1998 Matthew White