deathtoll.info

Since 26 July 2009 · Day 6,290

Nigeria Death Toll

Deaths from organised violence since 26 July 2009, recorded event by event by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP): civilians, the parties to the war and other armed groups. Every figure has a source, a type of source and a reference date.

Nigeria

Updated monthly

68,744

deaths from organised violence, best estimate (range 63,112 to 88,704)

Type of source: Monitor UCDP, up to 31 Aug 2026

Other counts

Counts by the UN, governments and independent monitors, each with its own period and definition. They are shown next to the UCDP figure and never added to it.

  • Deaths in the fighting involving Boko Haram and ISWAP, all sides 2,454

    Type of source: Monitor Nigeria Watch, 1 Jan 2025 to 31 Dec 2025

    Nigeria Watch's category "Boko Haram insurgency and counter operations", counted from Nigerian newspapers; banditry in the north-west is counted separately.

  • Children killed, verified by the UN 35

    Type of source: Verified by UN UN Secretary-General, children and armed conflict, 1 Jan 2025 to 31 Dec 2025

    Another 11 children were maimed; the UN attributes the 46 casualties to ISWAP (17), Boko Haram (JAS, 15), unidentified perpetrators (9), the Nigerian security forces (3) and the Civilian Joint Task Force (2).

  • People killed in attacks by gunmen in seven states, at least 10,217

    Type of source: Monitor Amnesty International, 29 May 2023 to 29 May 2025

    Benue, Edo, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau, Sokoto and Zamfara; Borno, where Boko Haram and ISWAP are most active, is not included.

  • Deaths in the Boko Haram conflict, all sides 32,842

    Type of source: Monitor Nigeria Watch, 1 Jun 2006 to 31 May 2016

    Of these, 16,666 were killed by the armed group and 16,182 by the security forces; the count starts before the uprising of 26 Jul 2009.

Latest update

1,015

deaths in August 2026, the latest month in the data

Breakdown

Civilians
18,794
27%
Government forces of Nigeria
4,250
6%
Islamic State (ISWAP)
14,273
21%
Boko Haram (JAS)
10,573
15%
Other armed groups
10,603
15%
Not assigned
10,251
15%

UCDP assigns each death to the civilians or to a party where the sources allow it, and otherwise to not assigned. Deaths of a party are deaths among its own forces.

Increase

Past 12 months
+7,777
September 2025 to August 2026
In 2026 so far
+6,488
January to August 2026

Scope

All of Nigeria. Counted: fighting between a government and armed groups, fighting between armed groups, and deliberate killings of civilians by an organised group, in events with at least one death.

Sources

Deaths per month

Best estimate per month, all groups together. The months of 2026 come from the monthly candidate data and can still change.

The chart needs JavaScript. The same figures are in the table below.

Show as monthly table
Deaths per month
MonthDeathsTotal since the start
August 20261,01568,744
July 202661167,729
June 202662667,118
May 20261,03166,492
April 20261,04665,461
March 202671264,415
February 202671263,703
January 202673562,991
December 202535862,256
November 202534061,898
October 202525561,558
September 202533661,303
August 202526260,967
July 202522260,705
June 202546960,483
May 202564860,014
April 202540159,366
March 202524858,965
February 202519158,717
January 202542858,526
December 202418258,098
November 202425557,916
October 202433057,661
September 202423557,331
August 202440857,096
July 202416756,688
June 202413756,521
May 202420556,384
April 202452256,179
March 202429155,657
February 202418155,366
January 202428855,185
December 202339954,897
November 202352354,498
October 202321753,975
September 202319553,758
August 202314453,563
July 202348553,419
June 202353152,934
May 202341152,403
April 202335351,992
March 202335251,639
February 202327451,287
January 202326651,013
December 202225850,747
November 202224350,489
October 202220950,246
September 202248050,037
August 202220949,557
July 20228049,348
June 202235649,268
May 202215848,912
April 202233848,754
March 202229848,416
February 202218248,118
January 202215947,936
December 202125247,777
November 202112347,525
October 202133247,402
September 202127947,070
August 202119646,791
July 202110246,595
June 202122946,493
May 202128646,264
April 202137645,978
March 202139745,602
February 202128945,205
January 202137344,916
December 202019344,543
November 202026644,350
October 202017944,084
September 202020943,905
August 202014243,696
July 202019943,554
June 202034243,355
May 202049743,013
April 202031742,516
March 202038142,199
February 202012641,818
January 202026941,692
December 201912741,423
November 201910241,296
October 201910241,194
September 201918441,092
August 201928040,908
July 201915640,628
June 201926040,472
May 201921140,212
April 201925740,001
March 201923039,744
February 201934639,514
January 201922639,168
December 201815238,942
November 201819338,790
October 201832638,597
September 201822738,271
August 201819438,044
July 201832437,850
June 201841137,526
May 201826037,115
April 201842836,855
March 201816836,427
February 201818436,259
January 201837736,075
December 201723735,698
November 201727235,461
October 201718135,189
September 201736435,008
August 201729334,644
July 201726934,351
June 201763234,082
May 201715133,450
April 201727133,299
March 201717333,028
February 201737132,855
January 201738032,484
December 201616132,104
November 201619231,943
October 201613131,751
September 201620731,620
August 201642631,413
July 201618130,987
June 201635030,806
May 201636130,456
April 201628430,095
March 201653729,811
February 201671129,274
January 201641028,563
December 201536728,153
November 201548427,786
October 201547427,302
September 201543426,828
August 201546826,394
July 201581225,926
June 201540625,114
May 201587224,708
April 201555223,836
March 20151,21323,284
February 20152,07522,071
January 201596419,996
December 201493919,032
November 201475018,093
October 201493917,343
September 201492616,404
August 20141,20715,478
July 201462414,271
June 201486213,647
May 20141,38312,785
April 201458211,402
March 20141,30510,820
February 20145399,515
January 20142908,976
December 20132748,686
November 20132518,412
October 20133778,161
September 20137617,784
August 20132597,023
July 20132676,764
June 20131746,497
May 20132686,323
April 20133896,055
March 20131515,666
February 20131175,515
January 20131035,398
December 2012615,295
November 20121355,234
October 20121325,099
September 20121224,967
August 2012994,845
July 20121074,746
June 20122754,639
May 20121054,364
April 20121614,259
March 20121534,098
February 20123473,945
January 20123253,598
December 20111683,273
November 20112053,105
October 2011182,900
September 2011392,882
August 2011792,843
July 2011622,764
June 2011822,702
May 20111122,620
April 20118172,508
March 2011301,691
February 2011761,661
January 20111431,585
December 2010981,442
November 201011,344
October 2010471,343
September 2010111,296
August 201091,285
July 201091,276
June 201051,267
May 2010161,262
April 2010211,246
March 20101961,225
February 2010161,029
January 20105511,013
December 200933462
November 20090429
October 200911429
September 20090418
August 20090418
July 2009418418

What is not counted

Notes on method

Period

The page starts on 26 July 2009, when Boko Haram began its armed uprising in the north-east. Since then the government has fought Boko Haram (JAS) and, from 2015, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Violence between communities and attacks by armed groups in other parts of the country are included as far as UCDP records them as organised violence.

Source

The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) at Uppsala University records organised violence event by event, from news media, reports of humanitarian and human rights organisations and other sources. For every event it gives a best estimate of the number of deaths, with a low and a high estimate. This page adds up the best estimates.

The final data run to the end of 2025 (GED 26.1). The months of 2026 come from the monthly candidate data (26.01.26.06, 26.0.7, 26.0.8), which UCDP revises when it publishes the final version.

Groups

For each event UCDP records the deaths among each of the two parties, the civilians killed and the deaths it cannot assign. On this page the parties named in the breakdown are shown separately; all other organised armed groups are combined.

Comparability

UCDP counts in the same way in every war, so its figures can be compared between wars better than counts by the parties. They are usually lower than estimates that include indirect deaths, and they can differ from figures published by governments or armed groups.

Citation

Davies, Pettersson and Öberg (2026), Journal of Peace Research; Sundberg and Melander (2013), Journal of Peace Research 50(4); Hegre, Croicu, Eck and Högbladh (2020), Research and Politics. UCDP is funded through DEMSCORE (Swedish Research Council, grant 2021-00162). The data are licensed under CC BY 4.0.