Are 90% of War Fatalities Civilians?

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One of the most widely used war statistics is the proposition that 90% of those who die in contemporary conflict are civilians. Various experts, the United Nations Development Programme and even the European Union have published the figure. But is it true? Xavier Zapata examines what the data tells us about the deadly impact of war on civilians. Interviews from Professor Adam Roberts at Oxford University and Therese Pettersson, project leader at the Uppsalla Conflict Data Programme. With thanks to Professor Michael Spagat at Royal Holloway College, University of London and Professor Francesco Checchi at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for their advice. (A child looks at the wreckage of a bus hit by an air strike at a market in northern Yemen which killed at least 29 children. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)