Soldiers and civilians together, roughly how many people lost their lives because of the Second World War?
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Answer
About 75 million deaths
Civilians made up well over half of the dead, and the Soviet Union and China together suffered more than half of all losses.
How to estimate it
Add up the worst affected countries. The Soviet Union lost about 25 million people and China about 18 million. Germany lost 7 million, Poland 6 million and Japan 3 million. All other countries, from Yugoslavia to India, Indonesia, France, Britain and the United States, add about 12 million. 25 + 18 + 7 + 6 + 3 + 12 = 71 million. Historians' estimates centre on about 75 million deaths.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; National WWII Museum
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