---
# System prepended metadata

title: Civilian casualties of War
tags: [opinion]

---

# Civilian casualties in war 2015 - 2024

There is way too much death and misery due to war. The United Nations recorded more than 33,000 civilian deaths in armed conflicts in 2023 alone, marking a 72% increase from 2022\[2\]\[5\].

Here's a top 10 of the ten deadliest conflicts with the highest civilian casualties between 2015 and 2024:

1.  **Democratic Republic of Congo Conflicts**
    
*   Approximately 3 million deaths, mostly civilians\[8\]
*   Mass displacement and resource exploitation\[8\]
*   Ongoing violence against civilians

2.  **Afghanistan-Pakistan Conflicts**

*   317,000-2,633,468 cumulative fatalities\[4\]
*   Significant civilian casualties\[6\]
*   Widespread displacement and infrastructure damage

3.  **Ukraine-Russia War**

*   Over 71,000 deaths in 2023 alone\[1\]
*   Approximately 40,000 civilian deaths since 2022\[8\]    
*   Massive displacement affecting over one-third of Ukraine's population\[8\]

4.  **Israel-Palestine Conflict**

*   Over 22,000 deaths in 2023\[1\]
*   Currently ranked as the most dangerous conflict zone with 87% of Palestinian population exposed\[3\]

5.  **Syrian Civil War**

*   Over 300,000 civilian deaths\[8\]
*   Life expectancy dropped from 70 to 55 years during the conflict\[8\]
*   Millions displaced internally and externally

6.  **Yemen Conflict**

*   More than 375,000 total deaths\[8\]
*   Over half the casualties due to indirect causes like hunger and disease\[8\]
*   Millions displaced

7.  **Myanmar Conflicts**

*   Multiple concurrent conflicts causing thousands of deaths\[4\]
*   Ranked second most conflicted territory globally\[3\]
*   High levels of armed group fragmentation\[3\]

8.  **Sudan Conflict**

*   Third deadliest conflict in 2023\[1\]
*   Systematic attacks against civilians\[2\]
*   High risk of genocide reported\[2\]

9.  **Sahel Region Conflicts** (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger)

*   Over 70,000 cumulative fatalities\[4\]
*   Significant civilian targeting\[1\]
*   Widespread displacement and humanitarian crisis

10.  **Mexican Drug War**

*   Between 127,000-407,000 cumulative fatalities\[4\]
*   High levels of civilian targeting\[3\]
*   Concentrated in cities and along drug trafficking routes\[1\]
    

Sources  
\[1\] UCDP: record number of armed conflicts in the world [https://www.uu.se/en/press/press-releases/2024/2024-06-03-ucdp-record-number-of-armed-conflicts-in-the-world](https://www.uu.se/en/press/press-releases/2024/2024-06-03-ucdp-record-number-of-armed-conflicts-in-the-world)  
\[2\] We Must Go Above, Beyond Compliance, Fully Protect Civilians ... [https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15702.doc.htm](https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15702.doc.htm)  
\[3\] ACLED Conflict Index Results: July 2024 [https://acleddata.com/conflict-index/index-july-2024/](https://acleddata.com/conflict-index/index-july-2024/)  
\[4\] List of ongoing armed conflicts - Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_ongoing\_armed\_conflicts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_armed_conflicts)  
\[5\] \[PDF\] 2024 - ohchr [https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/hrindicators/2024-infographics-ohchr-indicators-16-1-2.pdf](https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/hrindicators/2024-infographics-ohchr-indicators-16-1-2.pdf)  
\[6\] Civilians Killed & Wounded | Costs of War - Watson Institute [https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/civilians](https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/civilians)  
\[7\] Deaths in armed conflicts - Our World in Data [https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/deaths-in-armed-conflicts](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/deaths-in-armed-conflicts)  
\[8\] 8 Deadliest Wars of the 21st Century | Britannica [https://www.britannica.com/list/8-deadliest-wars-of-the-21st-century](https://www.britannica.com/list/8-deadliest-wars-of-the-21st-century)  
\[9\] Civilian deaths in Iraq war 2003-2024 - Statista [https://www.statista.com/statistics/269729/documented-civilian-deaths-in-iraq-war-since-2003/](https://www.statista.com/statistics/269729/documented-civilian-deaths-in-iraq-war-since-2003/)  
\[10\] Airwars [https://airwars.org](https://airwars.org)