Ranking · all categories · central estimates
The deadliest events in human history
Wars, pandemics, famines, genocides and nuclear disasters on one list, ranked by how many people they killed — with the range behind each number, the share of humanity alive at the time, and the deadliest event of every century.
Short answer
By central estimate the deadliest single event in recorded history is Smallpox (20th century), with about 300 million deaths. Measured as a share of the people alive at the time, the Black Death (up to 60 % of Europe) and the Mongol conquests (up to 10 % of the world) are far worse than anything in the twentieth century. Smallpox (20th century) is the deadliest event of the modern era.
Full ranking by death toll
| # | Event | Category | Period | Deaths (central) | Range | % of world pop. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smallpox (20th century) | Pandemic | 1900–1980 | 300.0M | 300.0M – 500.0M | — |
| 2 | Black Death | Pandemic | 1347–1353 | 120.0M | 75.0M – 200.0M | 30.0% |
| 3 | Spanish Flu | Pandemic | 1918–1920 | 75.0M | 50.0M – 100.0M | 4.2% |
| 4 | World War II | War | 1939–1945 | 75.0M | 70.0M – 85.0M | 3.3% |
| 5 | Malaria (ongoing) | Pandemic | 1900–present | 70.0M | 60.0M – 80.0M | 4.4% |
| 6 | HIV/AIDS | Pandemic | 1981–present | 42.0M | 40.0M – 45.0M | 0.93% |
| 7 | Mongol Conquests | War | 1206–1368 | 40.0M | 30.0M – 50.0M | 10.0% |
| 8 | Plague of Justinian | Pandemic | 541–549 | 30.0M | 25.0M – 50.0M | 15.0% |
| 9 | Taiping Rebellion | War | 1850–1864 | 30.0M | 20.0M – 40.0M | 2.5% |
| 10 | Great Chinese Famine | Famine | 1959–1961 | 30.0M | 15.0M – 55.0M | — |
| 11 | World War I | War | 1914–1918 | 20.0M | 17.0M – 22.0M | 1.1% |
| 12 | Second Sino-Japanese War | War | 1937–1945 | 14.0M | 8.0M – 22.0M | — |
| 13 | The Holocaust | Genocide | 1941–1945 | 11.0M | 9.0M – 11.0M | — |
| 14 | Thirty Years' War | War | 1618–1648 | 8.0M | 5.0M – 12.0M | — |
| 15 | COVID-19 | Pandemic | 2019–present | 7.0M | 7.0M – 20.0M | 0.090% |
| 16 | Russian Civil War | War | 1917–1922 | 7.0M | 5.0M – 9.0M | — |
| 17 | Napoleonic Wars | War | 1803–1815 | 5.0M | 3.5M – 6.0M | — |
| 18 | Chinese Civil War | War | 1927–1949 | 5.0M | 2.0M – 8.0M | — |
| 19 | Holodomor (Soviet Famine 1932–33) | Famine | 1932–1933 | 5.0M | 3.5M – 7.5M | — |
| 20 | Cholera (7 pandemics) | Pandemic | 1817–present | 4.0M | 3.0M – 5.0M | — |
| 21 | Second Congo War | War | 1998–2003 | 3.8M | 2.7M – 5.4M | — |
| 22 | Korean War | War | 1950–1953 | 2.5M | 1.2M – 4.5M | — |
| 23 | Bengal Famine 1943 | Famine | 1943–1944 | 2.5M | 2.0M – 3.0M | — |
| 24 | Vietnam War | War | 1955–1975 | 2.0M | 1.3M – 3.5M | — |
| 25 | Nigerian Civil War (Biafra) | War | 1967–1970 | 2.0M | 1.0M – 3.0M | — |
| 26 | Atlantic Slave Trade | Genocide | 1500–1900 | 2.0M | 1.8M – 4.0M | — |
| 27 | Cambodian Genocide | Genocide | 1975–1979 | 1.7M | 1.5M – 2.0M | — |
| 28 | Rwandan Genocide | War | 1994 | 800K | 500K – 800K | — |
| 29 | War of the Triple Alliance | War | 1864–1870 | 800K | 400K – 1.2M | — |
| 30 | Syrian Civil War | War | 2011–2024 | 500K | 300K – 600K | — |
| 31 | Russia–Ukraine War | War | 2022–present | 300K | 150K – 500K | — |
| 32 | Hiroshima & Nagasaki | Nuclear | 1945 | 160K | 110K – 210K | 0.007% |
| 33 | Israel–Gaza War | Genocide | 2023–present | 65K | 50K – 250K | — |
| 34 | Chernobyl Disaster | Nuclear | 1986 | 30K | 4K – 60K | 0.001% |
| 35 | Ebola (2014–2016) | Pandemic | 2014–2016 | 11K | 11K – 11K | — |
| 36 | Hantavirus (ongoing) | Pandemic | 1993–present | 4K | 3K – 5K | — |
Central estimate and range per our methodology. Share of world population uses the population at the event's start (UN / McEvedy & Jones); blank where no reliable baseline exists. Events overlap — the Holocaust is inside World War 2's civilian toll — so the column does not sum to distinct people.
The deadliest event of each century
Ranking by absolute numbers favours the crowded modern world. Century by century, the picture is different: for most of recorded history the killer was disease, and the largest single catastrophes relative to population happened before 1500.
| Century | Deadliest event | Deaths | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th century | Plague of Justinian 541–549 | 30.0M | Pandemic |
| 13th century | Mongol Conquests 1206–1368 | 40.0M | War |
| 14th century | Black Death 1347–1353 | 120.0M | Pandemic |
| 15th century | Atlantic Slave Trade 1500–1900 | 2.0M | Genocide |
| 17th century | Thirty Years' War 1618–1648 | 8.0M | War |
| 19th century | Smallpox (20th century) 1900–1980 | 300.0M | Pandemic |
| 20th century | Spanish Flu 1918–1920 | 75.0M | Pandemic |
| 21st century | COVID-19 2019–present | 7.0M | Pandemic |
How to read this list
Absolute numbers reward late dates. There were about 2.3 billion people alive in 1939 and about 400 million in 1347; World War 2 killed 3 % of humanity, the Black Death killed something like 10 to 15 % of it. The percentage column is the fairer comparison, and it is why the medieval and early-modern events climb the list when you sort by it.
Pandemics dominate the top of any long-run ranking because they are the only events that reach every continent. Wars dominate the twentieth century because industrial states could mobilise, and kill, at a scale no earlier empire could. Famines sit in between and are the most politically contested figures on the site: most of the largest were caused or worsened by governments.
Every figure links to an event page with its sources, its timeline and, where historians disagree, a table of estimates by source. Ranges are not decoration: a war documented at 70–85 million is not the same kind of fact as a bombing documented at 70,000, and the ranking should be read with that in mind.
Frequently asked questions
What is the deadliest event in human history?
By absolute death toll, World War 2 (1939–1945) with 70–85 million deaths. By share of the population alive at the time, the Black Death (1346–1353), which killed an estimated 75–200 million people — a third to a half of Europe and perhaps 10–15 % of the world.
What was the deadliest war in history?
World War 2, with 70–85 million dead. The next largest are the Mongol conquests of the 13th century (estimates up to 40 million), the Taiping Rebellion in China (20–30 million) and World War 1 (15–22 million including the war's famine and disease deaths).
What was the deadliest pandemic?
The Black Death by share of population and probably by absolute number (75–200 million). The 1918 influenza pandemic killed an estimated 50 million, possibly up to 100 million, in about two years — more than World War 1. COVID-19 is documented at about 7 million confirmed deaths and 18–28 million excess deaths.
What was the deadliest famine?
The Great Chinese Famine of 1959–1961, documented at 15 to 55 million deaths depending on the demographic method, with most scholarship between 30 and 45 million. The Bengal famine of 1943 (2–3 million) and the Holodomor in Ukraine (3.5–5 million) are the other twentieth-century famines on this list.
Why are the numbers ranges and not exact?
Because nobody counted at the time, or the count was destroyed, or the sources disagree about who to include. DeathVault publishes a low estimate, a high estimate and a central figure for every event, with the sources, so the uncertainty is visible. The full method is on the Methodology page.
Are these figures the same as on Wikipedia?
Often close, not always identical. We use institutional and peer-reviewed sources first and choose a central figure inside the credible range rather than the most-cited number. Where we differ from a well-known figure, the event page says why.