a memorial for all wars: the Polynational War Memorial
 

LIST OF WARS

Wars since 1900

A list of all wars in the 20th and 21st centuries, based on data by COW, Prio and UCDP. See the source page or the FAQ for more information. See the new stats page for a summary of casualty data and nation-based stats. And get a preview of the experimental timeline of all wars since 1900. What's new? Check the update logs for 2018, 2017 and 2016 .

Name of War   Years   Fatalities Type Mem. Note
Zulu Rebellion 1906 - 1906 2,356 1
Yugoslavia vs NATO Forces and UCK Guerilla 1998 - 1999 3,631 1 [6] U
Yom Kippur War 1973 - 1973 6,450 1 [1]
Yemeni Imamate War 1948 - 1948 4,000 1
Yemeni Civil War 2009 - 2017 19,406 1 U
Xinjiang Muslim Revolt 1931 - 1934 21,000 1
World War II 1939 - 1945 50,000,000 1 [36]
World War I 1914 - 1918 10,670,868 1 [12]
Western Sahara War 1975 - 1989 12,687 1 [1]
Waziristan conflict 2007 - 2017 33,599 1 [1] U
Vietnam War 1965 - 1975 2,048,050 1 [7]
Vietnam vs Cambodia (Kampuchea) 1978 - 1978 32,500 1
Vietnam Civil War 1955 - 1964 164,923 1
Uruguay Civil War 1904 - 1904 1,000 1
Uprisings in Colonial Angola 1902 - 1904 2,000 1
Uganda vs Tanzania 1978 - 1979 3,847 1
Uganda Civil War 1980 - 2017 129,047 1 [1] U
Turko Cypriot War 1974 - 1974 5,000 1
Turkish War of Independence 1919 - 1921 40,000 1
Turkey Gov vs Kurdistan Guerilla (PPK) 1984 - 2017 31,283 1 [1] U
Tunisian war of Independence 1953 - 1956 2,000 1
Tibetan Uprising 1956 - 1959 16,000 1
Third Sino-Tibetan War 1950 - 1950 4,000 1
Third Sino-Japanese War 1937 - 1941 1,000,000 1 [6]
Third Rif War 1920 - 1926 70,000 1
Third Chinese Warlord War 1925 - 1926 1,000 1
Third Central American war 1906 - 1906 1,000 1
Third Anglo-Afghan War 1919 - 1919 2,136 1
The Yên Bái Uprising 1930 - 1931 1,000 1
The Winter War in Finland 1939 - 1940 151,798 1 [1]
The War of a Thousand Days 1899 - 1903 100,000 1
The Six Day War 1967 - 1967 5,413 1 [1]
The second Rif War 1909 - 1910 10,000 1
The Dervish State vs Ethiopia, Britain and Italy 1899 - 1920 6,000 1
The Cristero War 1926 - 1929 10,000 1
The Boxer Rebellion 1900 - 1900 3,003 1
The battle of Khalkhin Gol 1939 - 1939 28,000 1
Thai Govt vs CPT 1974 - 1982 3,425 1
Telangana Rebellion and Indo-Hyderabad War 1947 - 1948 4,360 1 U
Tajikistan Govt vs Opposition 1992 - 2011 9,145 1
Taiwanese revolt 1947 - 1947 1,000 1 [1]
Taiwan Strait Crisis 1949 - 1954 10,025 1
Syrian Govt vs Muslim Brotherhood 1979 - 1982 2,075 1
Syrian civil war 2011 - 2017 278,694 1 [3] U
Sudan Government vs Militias 1983 - 2017 100,820 1 [1] U
Sudan Government vs Insurgents 1963 - 1972 10,000 1
Sri Lankan Govt vs Tamil Militants (LTTE) 1984 - 2009 73,837 1 [8] U
Sri Lanka Govt vs JVP 1971 - 1990 2,018 1 [1] U
Sparticist Rising 1919 - 1919 2,170 1
Spanish Socialists vs Govt 1934 - 1934 1,335 1
Spanish Civil War 1936 - 1939 466,300 1 [1]
Soviet-Turkestan War 1921 - 1923 3,500 1
Soviet Union vs Baltic Partisans (’’Forest Brethren’’) 1945 - 1951 32,400 1
Soviet Invasion of Hungary 1956 - 1956 3,171 1 [2]
Southwest African Revolt 1904 - 1905 12,800 1 [1]
Southern Lebanon War 1990 - 2006 1,944 1 [5] U
Southern China Revolt 1915 - 1918 1,000 1
South Yemen Coup 1986 - 1986 10,000 1
South Sudanese Civil War 2011 - 2017 7,483 1 [1] U
South African Government vs African National Congress 1981 - 1988 4,087 1 U
Somalia Rebellion and First Civil War 1982 - 1999 31,510 1 U
Somalia Civil War 2006 - 2022 33,784 1 [1] U
Sokoto and UK vs Mahdist Revolt 1906 - 1906 2,080 1
Sino-Vietnamese War 1978 - 1988 47,046 1
Sino-Soviet war 1929 - 1929 3,200 1
Sino-Russian War 1900 - 1900 4,000 1
Sino-Indian War 1962 - 1962 2,105 1 [2] U
Sinai War 1956 - 1956 2,142 1 [2]
Sierra Leone Civil War 1991 - 2000 20,157 1 [2] U
Senussi Orden vs Italy 1920 - 1932 40,000 1
Sectarian Conflict in the Central African Republic 2012 - 2022 12,531 1 U
Second Yemen Rebellion 1904 - 1904 30,000 1
Second Sino-Tibetan 1918 - 1918 1,500 1
Second Kashmir War 1964 - 1971 16,327 1 [2] U
Second Greco Turkish War 1919 - 1922 50,000 1
Second Chinese Warlord War 1922 - 1922 20,000 1
Second British-Waziristan 1936 - 1939 10,200 1
Second Boer war 1899 - 1902 30,800 1
Second Afghan Anti-Reform War 1928 - 1929 15,000 1
Saya San Rebellion 1930 - 1932 1,140 1
Saudi-Yemeni War 1934 - 1934 2,100 1
Rwandan Social Revolution 1959 - 1962 10,000 3 U
Rwanda Civil War and Genocide 1990 - 1994 507,754 1 [4] U
Russo-Ukrainian War 2014 - 2022 91,003 1 [2] U
Russo-Japanese war 1904 - 1905 151,831 1 [1]
Russian Revolution and Civil War 1917 - 1922 802,225 1 [1]
Russian Revolution 1905 1905 - 1906 1,500 1
Russia-Turkestan 1916 - 1917 1,350 1
Russia vs Chechnyan Secessionists, the Caucasus Emirate, IS 1993 - 2017 24,235 1 [7] U
Romanian Revolution 1989 - 1989 909 1
Romanian Peasant Revolt 1907 - 1907 2,000 1
Rhodesian Government vs ZANU,ZAPU,PF 1967 - 1979 27,080 1 [3]
Rebellion and killings in Burundi 1972 - 1972 152,000 1 U
Portugese war against Dembos 1907 - 1910 5,100 1
Political Violence during South Africa's post-apartheid transition 1989 - 1998 4,556 3 [2] U
Polish-Soviet War 1919 - 1920 100,000 1
Poland and Soviet Union vs Ukrainian Partisans 1945 - 1947 59,700 1
Philippines, Huk rebels vs Govt 1946 - 1954 9,695 1
Philippines Govt vs Mindanao Guerillas 1970 - 2017 20,001 1 U
Philippine insurrection 1899 - 1902 20,500 1
Philippine Government vs CPP Guerrilla 1969 - 2017 25,238 1 U
Peruvian Gvt vs Sendero Luminoso and MRTA 1965 - 2010 17,234 1 [1] U
Paraguayan Gvt vs Rebels 1947 - 1947 4,000 1
Paraguay Coups 1911 - 1912 5,000 1
Panama Coup and US Invasion 1989 - 1989 920 1
Northern Mali Conflict 1990 - 2017 3,891 1 U
Northern Ireland, The Troubles 1971 - 1998 3,010 1 [4]
Northern Expedition 1926 - 1928 126,500 1
North Yemen vs Secessionists 1994 - 1994 1,489 1
North Yemen Civil War 1962 - 1970 10,000 1
Nigerian Civil War 1967 - 1970 75,000 1 [2]
Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon vs Boko Haram (ISWAP) 2009 - 2017 29,363 1 U
Nicaraguan Gvt vs Sandinistas 1978 - 1979 10,000 1 [1]
Nicaragua Govt vs Contras 1981 - 1990 29,965 1 [1] U
Nepal Civil War 1996 - 2006 12,282 1 [1] U
Nejd-Hejaz Wars 1919 - 1925 4,000 1
Namibia vs South Africa 1966 - 1988 10,000 1 [5]
Nagorno-Karabakh War 1990 - 2017 5,748 1 [1] U
Mozambique War of Independence 1964 - 1974 13,500 1 [2]
Mozambique Govt vs RENAMO and FRELIMO 1977 - 2016 115,914 1 U
Morocco unrest 1907 - 1908 1,400 1
Moroccan War of Independence 1953 - 1956 1,000 1
Moro Rebellion 1913 - 1913 15,050 1
Moplah Riots in Kerala 1921 - 1922 2,450 1
Mexican Revolution 1910 - 1920 125,000 1 [1]
Mexican Drug War 2004 - 2017 19,673 2 [3] U
Manchurian War 1931 - 1933 60,000 1 [2]
Malayan Civil War 1948 - 1957 10,845 1 [2]
Maji Maji revolt 1905 - 1906 8,840 1
Madagascar Rebellion 1947 - 1947 6,952 1 [1]
Ma al-’Aynayn’s Anti-Colonial Insurgency 1907 - 1910 3,150 1
Lou Nuer vs Murle (Jonglei conflict) 2006 - 2017 3,495 2 [1] U
Lithuanian-Polish War 1920 - 1920 1,000 1
Libyan Civil War 2011 - 2017 8,037 1 [3] U
Liberia Civil War 1989 - 2003 23,249 1 [2] U
Lebanese Civil War 1975 - 1990 132,518 1 [8] U
Latvian Liberation 1918 - 1920 13,246 1
Laos Civil War 1959 - 1973 21,500 1
La Violencia 1948 - 1958 29,800 1
Kuomintang vs warlords 1929 - 1930 75,000 1
Kuomintang vs Gansu Rebels 1928 - 1928 200,000 1
Kuomintang vs Chinese Army 1913 - 1913 5,000 1
Kronstadt Rebellion 1921 - 1921 2,600 1
Korean War 1949 - 1953 995,025 1 [11]
Korean guerilla war against Japanese occupation 1907 - 1910 17,736 1
Kivu Conflict 2004 - 2017 13,192 1 U
Kenya, Mau-Mau vs UK 1954 - 1956 12,955 1 [3]
Ituri Conflict 1999 - 2004 12,494 2 U
Italo-Turkish War 1911 - 1912 20,000 1
Italo-Ethiopian War 1935 - 1936 20,000 1
Israel vs Palestine 1949 - 2017 17,403 1 [6] U
Israel vs Egypt 1969 - 1970 5,520 1
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant 2003 - 2017 143,539 1 U
Ireland freestaters vs Irregulars 1921 - 1922 4,000 1
Iraqi Insurgency 2004 - 2017 17,198 1 [9] U
Iraq vs US led coalition 2003 - 2003 7,927 1 [10] U
Iraq vs UK 1920 - 1921 9,540 1
Iraq vs Kurdistan (KDP/PUK) 1982 - 1996 21,552 1 [1] U
Iraq Government vs SCIRI 1982 - 1996 1,165 1
Iranian Revolution 1978 - 1979 1,100 1
Iranian Govt vs KDPI 1966 - 1996 2,618 1 [1] U
Iranian Constitution War 1908 - 1909 1,100 1
Iran vs rebel groups (MEK,PJAK etc) 1979 - 2011 5,015 1 [1] U
Iran vs Iraq 1980 - 1988 644,500 1 [5]
Indonesian Independence 1945 - 1946 5,400 1
Indonesian Govt vs Republic of South Moluccas 1950 - 1950 1,000 1
Indonesian Govt vs Fretilin - East Timor 1975 - 1999 76,623 1 [1] U
Indonesian annexation of West Papua 1962 - 1978 8,700 1
Indonesia vs PRRI, Permesta and Darul Islam 1953 - 1961 33,965 1
Indonesia Gvt vs Aceh Liberation movement 1990 - 2005 3,754 1 U
Indian-Pakistani Dispute and Intrastate Insurgency in Kashmir 1984 - 2017 22,970 1 [13] U
Indian Partition Communal Violence 1947 - 1948 200,000 1 U
Indian Govt vs Sikh insurgents 1983 - 1993 14,551 1 [2] U
Indian Govt vs Maoist Guerillas 1991 - 2017 8,164 1 U
Indian Govt vs Communist Rebels CPI 1948 - 1951 4,000 1 U
Ilinden Uprising 1903 - 1903 6,330 1
Ikhwan Revolt 1929 - 1930 5,500 1
Hungary Civil War 1919 - 1920 1,500 1
Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919 1919 - 1919 11,000 1
Hunde and allies vs Hutu, Banyarwanda 1993 - 1996 4,303 2 U
Honduras Coup 1924 - 1924 1,000 1
Guinea Bissau War of Independence 1963 - 1973 15,000 1 [1]
Guatemalan Civil War 1965 - 1995 45,418 1 [2] U
Green Rebellion 1920 - 1921 6,700 1
Greece Civil War 1946 - 1949 154,000 1
Georgia civil war and South Ossetia and Abkhazia conflict 1991 - 2008 3,538 1 U
French Conquest of Wadai Sultanate 1909 - 1911 12,000 1
Franco-Thai War 1940 - 1941 1,400 1 [1]
Franco-Syrian war 1920 - 1920 3,500 1 [1]
Football War Honduras vs El Salvador 1969 - 1969 2,107 1
First Sino-Tibetan War 1911 - 1912 2,000 1
First Rwanda Civil War 1963 - 1964 21,000 1 U
First Lebanese War 1958 - 1958 1,400 1 [1]
First Kurdish–Iraqi War 1961 - 1970 6,600 1
First Kashmir War 1948 - 1948 7,500 1 U
First Indochina War Comm. vs France 1946 - 1954 377,523 1 [2]
First Gulf War 1990 - 1991 23,946 1 [4] U
First Chinese Warlord War 1920 - 1920 35,000 1
First British-Waziristan War 1919 - 1920 2,000 1 U
First and Second Congo Wars 1996 - 2002 80,018 1 [1] U
Finnish Civil War 1918 - 1918 15,150 1 [1]
Falklands War 1982 - 1982 964 1 [5]
Ethiopian Govt vs Ogadeni Rebels - WSLF/ONLF/AIAI 1976 - 2016 23,432 1 [1] U
Ethiopian Government vs EPRDF 1976 - 1991 56,003 1 U
Ethiopia vs Oromia rebels (OLF) 1977 - 2017 3,432 1 [1] U
Ethiopia vs Eritrean Separatists ELF/EPLF 1964 - 1991 168,510 1 U
Estonian Liberation War 1918 - 1920 11,750 1 [2]
Escobar Rebellion 1929 - 1929 2,000 1
Eritrea vs Ethiopia 2000 - 2000 98,192 1 [1] U
El Salvador, La Matanza 1932 - 1932 2,600 1
El Salvador Gvt vs FMLN Guerrillas 1979 - 1991 51,809 1 [2] U
Dutch-Achinese War 1904 - 1907 24,200 1
Druze revolt 1925 - 1927 6,000 1
Dominican Republic Coup 1965 - 1965 4,027 1
Cuban Revolution 1953 - 1961 1,205 1
Cuba vs Partido Independiente de Color 1911 - 1911 1,050 1
Croatian Govt, irregulars vs Serbian Govt, irregulars, Rep. Krajina 1992 - 1995 4,819 1 [3] U
Costa Rican Civil War 1948 - 1948 2,000 1
Conquest of Mongolia 1920 - 1921 4,000 1
Congo Crisis 1960 - 1965 7,175 1 [2]
Congo Brazzaville Civil War 1993 - 2002 15,541 1 [1]
Communists vs Koumintang 1930 - 1935 500,000 1
Colombia Govt vs Guerillas Farc and ELN 1964 - 2016 31,937 1 [3] U
Civil War in Mandatory Palestine 1947 - 1948 4,009 1 [2]
Civil War in Côte d Ivoire 2002 - 2004 1,472 1 [1] U
Chinese Revolution 1911 - 1911 1,000 1 [2]
Chinese Govt vs Bai Lang (White Wolf) Rebels 1914 - 1914 5,000 1
Chinese Cultural Revolution 1967 - 1976 2,050,000 1 [1]
Chinese Civil War 1946 - 1949 1,200,000 1 [1]
Chilean MIlitary Coup 1973 - 1973 2,095 1 [2]
Cheju Rebellion in South Korea 1948 - 1949 17,000 1 [1]
Changkufeng Incident 1938 - 1938 1,726 1
Chadian-Lybian War (Aouzou Strip) 1987 - 1987 8,500 1
Chad Civil War 1966 - 2010 36,078 1 U
Chaco War 1932 - 1935 92,661 1
Cameroonian Govt vs UPC 1960 - 1961 60,000 1
Cameroon War of Independence 1957 - 1959 11,700 1
Cambodian Govt vs Khmer Rouge 1979 - 1998 87,499 1 U
Cambodian Civil War 1967 - 1975 250,000 1
Caco Revolt 1918 - 1920 2,102 1
Burundi Civil War 1991 - 2008 19,552 1 [2] U
Burmese Govt vs Communist Guerillas 1948 - 1994 17,700 1
Burmese Government vs Separatist Guerillas 1948 - 2017 56,028 1 U
Brazilian Revolt 1932 - 1932 1,000 1
Bosnian Govt vs Serbian and Croatian Insurgents 1992 - 1995 26,472 1 [7] U
Bolivian Revolution 1952 - 1952 1,000 1
Blackshirts vs Leftists 1920 - 1922 3,300 1
Bizerte Crisis 1961 - 1961 1,394 1
Bangladesh War 1971 - 1971 50,000 1 [4] U
Balochistan Insurgency 1974 - 1977 8,600 1 U
Asir-Yemen Revolt 1910 - 1911 9,000 1
Argentina: Civil War and Dirty War 1974 - 1977 4,677 1 [2]
Arab-Israeli War 1948 - 1949 21,111 1 [1]
Aprista Revolt in Peru 1932 - 1932 1,100 1
Angolan War of Independence 1961 - 1975 79,000 1 [1]
Angolan Gvt vs UNITA Guerilla 1975 - 2002 114,898 1 [1]
Algerian War of Independece 1954 - 1962 184,886 1 [2]
Algeria Govt vs Islamic rebels, GIA, AIS, AQIM 1991 - 2017 20,965 1 [1] U
al-Qaida vs USA and allies 2001 - 2017 8,593 1 [12] U
Afghanistan war 2001 - 2017 130,807 1 [5] U
Afghanistan Civil War 1978 - 2000 546,670 1 [4] U
Afghan rebels vs govt 1924 - 1925 2,000 1
4th Central American war 1907 - 1907 1,000 1
2nd Balkan War 1913 - 1913 60,500 1
1st Balkan War 1912 - 1913 82,000 1 [1]
1959 Mosul uprising in Iraq 1959 - 1959 2,000 1 [1]
Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine 1936 - 1939 2,576 1

 

Note about search on a specific nation: results produced by this feature are incomplete and inconsistent and should be seen as a means to narrow down the list rather than anything else. Work is being done to correct mistakes and standardize the parameters. At the bottom of the list of countries are some nations that do not exist in a similar form today.

Note about search on a specific year: "ongoing armed conflict" does not imply that all of the conflicts presented for a specific year should be classified as war.

Note about search on a specific time period: finds all wars that started after a specific year (1st search parameter) and ended before a specific year (2nd param).

Note about categories: this new feature is currently being tested and the content of these categories may be incomplete or inconsistent. More categories will be added in the future.