Did you know that governments killed over 170 million of their own citizens in the 20th Century? Here are the top 20, from R.J. Rummel's Death by Government. (Note that this table is only through 1994; I was unable to find more recent data.)
Location (Regime) - Deaths (Era)
Soviet Union (Communist) - 61,900,000 (1917-1990)
China (Communist) - 35,200,000 (1949-1994)
Germany (Nazi Third Reich) - 20,900,000 (1933-1945)
China (Kuomintang) - 10,400,000 (1928-1949)
Japan (Imperial-Fascist) - 6,000,000 (1936-1945)
China (Communist Guerrillas) - 3,500,000 (1923-1948)
Cambodia (Communists) - 2,000,000 (1975-1979)
Turkey ("Young Turks") - 1,900,000 (1909-1917)
Vietnam (Communists) - 1,700,000 (1945-1994)
North Korea (Communist) - 1,700,000 (1948-1994)
Poland (Communist) - 1,600,000 (1945-1948)
Pakistan (Yahya Khan) - 1,500,000 (1971)
Mexico (Porfiriato) - 1,400,000 (1900-1920)
Yugoslavia (Communist) - 1,100,000 (1944-1990)
Russia (Czarist) - 1,100,000 (1900-1917)
Turkey (Mustafa Kemal "Ataturk") - 900,000 (1918-1923)
United Kingdom (Constitutional) - 800,000 (1900-1994)
Portugal (Fascist) - 700,000 (1926-1975)
Croatia (Fascist) - 700,000 (1941-1945)
Indonesia (Suharto) - 600,000 (1965-1994)
Location (Regime) - Deaths (Era)
Soviet Union (Communist) - 61,900,000 (1917-1990)
China (Communist) - 35,200,000 (1949-1994)
Germany (Nazi Third Reich) - 20,900,000 (1933-1945)
China (Kuomintang) - 10,400,000 (1928-1949)
Japan (Imperial-Fascist) - 6,000,000 (1936-1945)
China (Communist Guerrillas) - 3,500,000 (1923-1948)
Cambodia (Communists) - 2,000,000 (1975-1979)
Turkey ("Young Turks") - 1,900,000 (1909-1917)
Vietnam (Communists) - 1,700,000 (1945-1994)
North Korea (Communist) - 1,700,000 (1948-1994)
Poland (Communist) - 1,600,000 (1945-1948)
Pakistan (Yahya Khan) - 1,500,000 (1971)
Mexico (Porfiriato) - 1,400,000 (1900-1920)
Yugoslavia (Communist) - 1,100,000 (1944-1990)
Russia (Czarist) - 1,100,000 (1900-1917)
Turkey (Mustafa Kemal "Ataturk") - 900,000 (1918-1923)
United Kingdom (Constitutional) - 800,000 (1900-1994)
Portugal (Fascist) - 700,000 (1926-1975)
Croatia (Fascist) - 700,000 (1941-1945)
Indonesia (Suharto) - 600,000 (1965-1994)
4 Comments:
80% of these deaths from from hard core communist or fascist nations. The lesson from the 20th century is that extreme right or left movements can do a lot of damage.
By Anonymous, at 9:34 AM
I guess that means government is not compatible with life.
By gr8face, at 1:50 PM
These figures, as presented, are quite vague. Are these deaths specifically of citizens of each country, caused by its own government? Are these all deaths caused deliberately via executions and exterminations, or do these include deaths brought about by war? If they include deaths brought about by war, do they include wars that these governments did not start?
Personally, I find it hard to believe that England deliberately killed 800,000 of its own citizens over the past century.
By Craig Stern, at 4:38 PM
craig,
You're right, I didn't include the detailed accounting of these figures, but the author I cite did. He specifically does not include war fatalities. You can read more about his methodology here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democide
That page also includes updated data.
By howtolive.org, at 8:30 AM
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