World War II Statistics

World War II Statistics

By the Numbers

America's Fight versus the Overall World Fight

Estimated number of people serving in World War II worldwide: 1.9 billion

Estimated number of deaths sustained worldwide during World War II: 72 million

Number of Americans who served in World War II: 16.1 million

Average amount of time each U.S. military serviceman served overseas during World War II: 16 months

Estimated number of U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines killed in battle during World War II: 292,000

  • Who perished outside of battle during World War II: 114,000
  • Wounded during World War II: 672,000
  • Deaths, in total, sustained by U.S. forces during World War II: 405,000
  • Deaths as a percent of the total United States population: 0.4%

Estimated Number of Deaths Sustained by Military Forces During World War II

Polish: 123,000
French: 213,000
British: 373,000
Chinese: 1.3 million
Japanese: 1.3 million
German: 3.5 million
Russian: 11 million

Estimated Number of Civilians Killed During World War II

British: 93,000
French: 350,000
Japanese: 672,000
German: 780,000
Polish: 5.7 million
Russian: 7 million

The Holocaust

Estimated total number of European Jews killed in the Nazi Holocaust: 6 million
German Jews killed in the Holocaust: 125,000
Polish Jews killed in the Holocaust: 3 million