Russian Federation: Battle-related deaths (number of people)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Russian Federation's battle-related deaths (number of people) rose 3,793.4% on 2023 (from 197 to 7,670).

Across the 26 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2023), the average change was +33.1% and a typical year strayed about 147% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 25.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3,793.4% in 2024 and the biggest yearly fall was 72.8% in 2001. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 449.3 a year. A straight line explains 31% of the movement over 9 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Russian Federation had the 3rd highest value of the 35 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Russian Federation in the 2024 ranking

• Ukraine — 1st of 35: 68,097
• Israel — 2nd of 35: 21,440
• Sudan — 4th of 35: 4,680
• Lebanon — 5th of 35: 4,335
• Ethiopia — 6th of 35: 2,824

What this measures

Battle-related deaths are deaths in battle-related conflicts between warring parties in the conflict dyad (two conflict units that are parties to a conflict). Battle-related deaths refer to those deaths caused by the warring parties that can be directly related to combat. This includes battlefield fighting, guerrilla activities (e.g. hit and-run attacks/ambushes) and all kinds of bombardments of military bases, cities and villages etc. The target for the attacks is either the military forces or representatives for the parties, though there is often substantial collateral damage in the form of civilians being killed in the crossfire, indiscriminate bombings, etc. All fatalities, military as well as civilian, incurred in such situations are counted as battle-related deaths.

Limitations: While the best estimate for battle-related deaths is considered a conservative minimum, the high estimate may still undercount actual fatalities due to unreported events, and users are cautioned that the apparent precision of the numbers does not eliminate underlying uncertainty.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 31 values

Battle-related deaths (number of people) in nearby economies

• Armenia — 20 (2023)
• Azerbaijan — 442 (2023)
• Tajikistan — 87 (2022)
• Türkiye — 34 (2024)
• Ukraine — 68,097 (2024)

More public sector data for Russian Federation

• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 15.96 trillion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 7.5% (2025)
• Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 1.94 billion (2025)
• Intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female) — 2.78 (2023)
• Intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male) — 9.87 (2023)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 190.42 billion (2025)
• Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 6.77 (2021)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 2.64 trillion (2024)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Russian Federation's battle-related deaths (number of people)?

7,670 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 3,895% from 192 in 1990 (11.46% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 7,670 in 2024 and the lowest 26 in 2019.

How does Russian Federation rank?

3rd highest of 35 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in battle-related deaths (number of people) unusual for Russian Federation?

In 2024, Russian Federation's battle-related deaths (number of people) rose 3,793.4% on 2023 (from 197 to 7,670). Across the 26 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2023), the average change was +33.1% and a typical year strayed about 147% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 25.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator VC.BTL.DETH, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: UCDP Battle-related Deaths Dataset , Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), uri: https://ucdp.uu.se/downloads/, publisher: Uppsala University Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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