War deaths in the last century are estimated at 40 to 50 million people. But 170 million people were murdered by their own governments:
Stalin, 65 million people
Mao, 35 million people
Hitler, 16 million people
Pol Pot, 2 million people
Above are the big ones. Below are just some examples of smaller governments that engaged in state-sponsored mass murder. Many of these regimes killed their own people either through direct executions, ethnic purges, or policies that led to starvation and mass suffering.
Uganda (Idi Amin, 1971–1979) – An estimated 300,000 to 500,000 Ugandans were killed under Amin’s rule, including political opponents, ethnic groups such as the Acholi and Lango, and suspected dissidents.
Cambodia (Lon Nol, 1970–1975) – Before the Khmer Rouge, the Lon Nol regime was responsible for tens of thousands of deaths, particularly in suppressing leftist opposition and bombing rural areas.
Burma/Myanmar (Ne Win and later military juntas, 1962–2011) – Ne Win’s socialist military regime and subsequent juntas were responsible for mass killings, particularly against ethnic minorities like the Rohingya, Karen, and Kachin.
North Korea (Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un, ongoing) – The North Korean regime has killed hundreds of thousands through purges, concentration camps, forced labor, and starvation policies.
Ethiopia (Mengistu Haile Mariam, 1974–1991) – The "Red Terror" campaign alone killed up to 500,000 people as the Marxist Derg regime targeted opposition groups.
Zaire/Democratic Republic of the Congo (Mobutu Sese Seko, 1965–1997) – While his regime was more known for corruption, Mobutu’s government was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands through repression and ethnic violence.
Haiti (François "Papa Doc" Duvalier and Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, 1957–1986) – The Tonton Macoute paramilitary force killed tens of thousands of Haitians to maintain the Duvalier dictatorship.
Argentina (Jorge Videla and the military junta, 1976–1983) – The "Dirty War" led to the disappearance and execution of approximately 30,000 suspected leftists and dissidents.
Chile (Augusto Pinochet, 1973–1990) – While not as large-scale as some other cases, Pinochet’s regime was responsible for the deaths and disappearances of over 3,000 political opponents, along with widespread torture.
Indonesia (Suharto, 1967–1998) – Suharto’s regime was responsible for the deaths of at least 500,000 suspected communists in 1965–66 and additional mass killings in East Timor and West Papua.
Rwanda (Juvénal Habyarimana and successor government, 1990s) – While the 1994 genocide was perpetrated by the Hutu extremist government against the Tutsi minority, earlier repression and killings by Habyarimana’s regime also contributed to ethnic tensions.