Title: Casualty Figure Chart for World War 1
Headings: Casualties of World War I
Casualties of World War I
Estimating the Numbers
How People Died
Notes on Countries
Casualties of World War I
Sources and Further Reading
Watch Now: 5 Causes of World War I

Content: Casualty Figure Chart for World War 1
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Casualties of World War I
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Ohlsdorf Cemetery, Germany, burial site of WWI casualties. Staro1/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0
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By
Robert Wilde
History Expert
M.A., Medieval Studies, Sheffield University
B.A., Medieval Studies, Sheffield University
Robert Wilde is a historian who writes about European history. He is the author of the History in an Afternoon textbook series. our editorial process
Robert Wilde
Updated May 22, 2019
Despite intensive research by historians, there is no—and there will never be—a definitive list of the casualties inflicted during World War I. Where detailed record-keeping was attempted, the demands of battle undermined it. The destructive nature of the war, a conflict where soldiers could be wholly obliterated or instantly buried, destroyed both the records themselves and the memories of those who knew the fates of their comrades. Estimating the Numbers
For many countries, the estimated figures only vary within the hundreds, even tens, of thousands, but those of others—particularly France—can be over a million apart. Consequently, the numbers given here have been rounded to the nearest thousand (Japan is an exception, given the low number). The figures in this, and almost every other list, will differ; however, the proportions should remain similar and it is these (represented here as percentages) which allow the greatest insight. In addition, there is no convention as to whether the dead and wounded of the British Empire are listed under this umbrella title or by individual nation (and there is certainly no convention for those regions which have since divided).