The highest percentages of national populations killed during periods of mass brutality:


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]".

By Race, Religion and Regime:

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

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Last updated September 1998

Copyright © 1998 Matthew White