The Korean War Statistics
By the Numbers
Population
Population of Korea in 1950: 30 million
Population of North Korea in 1950: 9 million
Population of South Korea in 1950: 21 million9
Geography
Length of Korea: almost 600 miles
Width of Korea: 200 miles at its widest, 90 miles at its narrowest
Total land area of Korea: 85,000 square miles
Total coastline of Korea: 5,600 miles11
Political Imprisonment
Political prisoners in South Korea by 1947: 22,000 (twice as many as under the Japanese occupation)8
Estimated number of leftist political prisoners executed by South Korean police and military in the "Summer of Terror" of 1950: at least 100,000 (historians consider this a "very conservative" estimate)10
War Involvement
Estimated strength of the North Korean army in 1950: 135,000 men
Estimated strength of the South Korean army in 1950: 95,000 men12
Number of non-American troops from other UN member states sent to aid South Korea: about 40,000
Number of British Commonwealth troops sent to aid South Korea: about 20,000
Number of American troops sent to aid South Korea: 5,720,00014
Deaths
Number of Americans killed in the Korean War: 36,000
Number of Americans wounded in the Korean War: 105,000
Number of South Koreans killed in the Korean War: 415,000
Number of South Koreans wounded in the Korean War: 429,000
Estimated number of Chinese and North Koreans killed in the Korean War: 1,500,00013