Super fact 95 : More than 4-5 million people died in Congo Civil War 1998 to 2003 and its aftermath (until 2007). In addition, some of the other of the deadliest wars in the 21st century are not well known.
Below : 21st Century death toll from different wars, current and recent.
Notes on the graphics above:
- The 16 wars included in the graphics above roughly correspond to the deadliest wars in the 21st century. However, a few of the wars included in the graphics are not among the 16 deadliest wars of the 21st century.
- Some of the wars included above started in the 20th century. The number of deaths estimates corresponds to the portions that happened in the 21st century.
- The number of deaths from the Congo Civil War include famine and plagues that resulted from the war.
- I had a hard time finding an estimate for just the 21st century portion of the Congo Civil War. However, the vast majority of the deaths happened in the 21st century.
- The death estimates for the Russo-Ukrainian War might be underestimated due to unreliable reporting by Russian authorities.
- The Israeli-Gaza war may seem smaller than expected. However, media attention does not necessarily correspond to the size of the devastation of a conflict.
- The estimate for the number of deaths for the current Iran-US-Israel war is between 3,600 to nearly 5,400 deaths, which is too small to be part of this post.
- There are / were hundreds of wars and conflicts in the 21st century.
I consider this a super fact because it is true, an important history fact and despite the enormous losses in the Congo Civil War a lot of people do not know much about it and may not even have heard about it.
Deadliest Wars in the Twenty First Century
- The Second Congo Civil War 1998 to 2007. With an estimated 3 million to 5.4 million deaths. Read about it here, here, or here.
- The Syrian civil war 2011 to 2024. With an estimated 580 thousand to 610 thousand deaths.
- Second Sudanese Civil War 1983 to 2005. With an estimated 2 million deaths in total, with 300,000 to 600,000 deaths occurring in 21st century.
- Tigray War 2020 to 2022. With an estimated 160 thousand to 600 thousand deaths.
- War in Darfur 2003 to 2020. With an estimated 400 thousand deaths.
- Russo-Ukrainian War 2014 to present. With an estimated 350 thousand to 480 thousand deaths.
- Mexican drug war 2006 to present. With an estimated 350 thousand to 400 thousand deaths.
- South Sudanese Civil War 2013 to 2020. With an estimated 380 thousand deaths.
- Yemeni civil war 2014 to present. With an estimated 370 thousand deaths.
- War in Afghanistan 2001–2021. With an estimated 360 thousand deaths.
- Boko Haram insurgency 2009 to present. With an estimated 350 thousand deaths.
- Iraqi war 2003 to 2017. With an estimated 270 thousand to 300 thousand deaths.
- Colombian conflict 1964 to present. With an estimated 450 thousand deaths but with about half of those deaths happening in the intense fighting of the 21st century.
- Chechen conflict 1994 to 2009. With an estimated 80 thousand to 230 thousand deaths, most of those, 150 thousand, happening in the 21st century.
- Angolan Civil War 1975 to 2002. With an estimated 800 thousand deaths many in the final years of the conflict with an estimated 100 thousand in the 21st century.
- Burundian Civil War 1993 to 2005. With an estimated 550 thousand to 800 thousand deaths, many in the final years of the conflict with an estimated 50 thousand deaths in the 21st century.
- The Arab Israeli conflict 1948 to present (multiple wars) . With an estimated 200 thousand deaths in total with 80 thousand deaths happening in the 21st century.
- The Israel Gaza conflict (2023 to present). With an estimated 75 thousand deaths.
To read related posts of mine see “We are living in relatively peaceful times“ and “Deadliest Civil War Was the Taiping Rebellion”.
To see the other Super Facts click here
Super Facts 
Wow. So much death and destruction.
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Yes millions of dead and a lot of death and destruction. A lot of it we don’t hear much about.
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Just awful… and so, so sad.
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Yes it is very sad. Thank you Chris.
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It seems that we are not learning from past mistakes. Apparently, the pen is NOT mightier than the sword after all.
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You are right it seems like we are not learning from the past. However, it was much worse in the last century, especially the first half, and the one before that was much worse, but we are far from done with this one.
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I hope people come to their senses sooner than later.
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One day maybe, but not anytime soon
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Thank you for this interesting post, Thomas. I do know a bit about this war because a lot of Congolese refugees came here and still work here. They have horror stories to share of abuse and losses during this period.
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I am not surprised you were aware of this considering where you live. I cannot imagine the horrors that you heard about.
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I am a person people tend to confide in so I’ve heard some really bad stories 🙏🌈
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I can imagine. That is the downside with being empathic and a good listener. You get to know things you wish you didn’t. My wife is the same way.
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So many countries are attacking congo due to its rich in essential minerals like colbat, coltan that’s essential for many tech companies, people suffer in mineral sites and work hard while payments are so low to even meet their own needs…
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Yes I am aware of some of the things to mention. Congo is a big country with rich natural resources, and it has suffered immensely throughout history, not just from this war but in the past.
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It is staggering to see all of these numbers in one graphic. In Canada, we didn’t hear much of the Congo war as with the others. When will we ever stop killing each other?! Maggie
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Good question. The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. That’s a good song. It is interesting that so many of these big and devastating wars were almost never reported on. You have to look it up to find out, or you won;t know.
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This is a sobering but important super fact. It really highlights how American news can really gloss over many important and tragic human events. I remember hearing about the war in the Congo, but did not realize there had been so much loss of life.
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Yes you are right, and it is not just American news. It is the same in Europe. Some conflicts are more newsworthy than others for various reasons. News is a business after all and it is difficult for people to keep track of all the wars and conflicts. It is good to remember that the wars and conflicts in the news aren’t necessarily the worst ones.
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Java Bean: “Ayyy, sí, our Dada was reading about this war in The New Yorker a while back. He knew about it but had no idea it was as bad as it was. And scary to think, it’s only the deadliest war in this century so far …”
Lulu: “Don’t say stuff like that, Bean!”
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Yes some people paid enough attention to know about it. Not many know how bad it was. You are right Java Bean. We are only a quarter through our century. I am sorry that scares you Lulu.
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oh my goodness this is so tragic! 😦
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