China’s Great Famine (1959-1961): Death Toll
Experts, including former Chinese Communist Party officials and international scholars, have estimated the excess deaths caused by the famine. These estimates typically range from 15 to 55 million deaths. Mobo Gao, an author with Maoist leanings, suggests that writers critical of communism tend to exaggerate the death toll, while those supportive of the Chinese Revolution prefer to minimize it. Here are some specific estimates:
Death Toll (in million) | Researchers | Year | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
55 | Yu Xiguang (余习广) | 2015 | Yu is an independent Chinese historian and a former instructor at the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party, estimated that 55 million people died due to the famine. His conclusion was based on two decades of archival research. |
30–60 | Jasper Becker | 1996 | Becker, a British journalist and author of Hungry Ghosts: Mao’s Secret Famine, wrote that most estimates of the famine death toll range from 30 to 60 million. |
43 | Frank Dikötter | 2010 | Dikötter, Chair Professor of Humanities at the University of Hong Kong and the author of Mao’s Great Famine, estimated that at least 45 million people died from starvation, overwork and state violence during the Great Leap Forward. His study also stressed that state violence exacerbated the death toll. |
43 | Chen Yizi (陈一谘) | 1994 | Chen, a former senior Chinese official and a top advisor to former CCP General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, stated that 43 million people died due to the famine. |
40 | Liao Gailong (廖盖隆) | 2019 | Liao, former Vice Director of the History Research Unit of the CCP, reported 40 million “unnatural” deaths due to the famine. |
36 | Mao Yushi | 2014 | Mao, a Chinese economist and winner of the 2012 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, put the death toll at 36 million. |
36 | Yang Jisheng | 2012 | Yang, Xinhua News Agency senior journalist and author of Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine, 1958–1962, concluded there were 36 million deaths due to starvation, while another 40 million others failed to be born. |
32.5 | Cao Shuji (曹树基) | 2005 | Cao, Distinguished Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, estimated the death toll at 32.5 million. |
30 | Vaclav Smil | 1999 | Smil, a Czech-Canadian scientist and policy analyst, estimated 30 million deaths. |
30 | Judith Banister | 1987 | Banister, Director of Global Demographics at the Conference Board, estimated 30 million excess deaths from 1958 to 1961. |
23 | Peng Xizhe (彭希哲) | 1987 | Peng, Professor of Population and Development at Fudan University, estimated 23 million excess deaths during the famine. |
22 | Li Chengrui (李成瑞) | 1998 | Li, former Minister of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, estimated 22 million deaths. |
18 | Shujie Yao (姚书杰) | 1999 | Yao, Chair of Economics at the Business School of Middlesex University, concluded that 18 million people perished due to the famine. |
15 | 1989 | A research team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences concluded that at least 15 million people died of malnutrition. | |
15.4 | Daniel Houser, Barbara Sands, and Erte Xiao | 2009 | Estimated that China suffered 15.4 million excess deaths during the famine, of which 69% (or 10.6 million) were attributable to effects stemming from national policies. |
11 | Utsa Patnaik | 2007 | Patnaik, a Marxian economist, estimated that 11 million deaths were caused due to the famine. |
3.66 | Sun Jingxian (孙经先) | 2016 | Sun, scholar in applied mathematics and professor at Shandong University, concluded an estimate of 3.66 million “anomalous deaths” during the famine years. |
2.6–4 | Yang Songlin (杨松林) | 2021 | Yang, a researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council in Henan, estimated that roughly 2.6–4 million people died during the famine years. |
China’s Great Famine (1959-1961)
Around forty years ago, China faced the world’s biggest famine. It happened from around 1959 to 1961, and sadly, about 30 million Chinese people died because of it. Additionally, nearly the same number of births didn’t happen or were delayed. The famine was mostly caused by ideological reasons. It’s considered as significant as the two world wars in terms of public deaths caused by humans, according to Richard Rhodes, an expert.
Now, after two generations, China has become economically successful and can provide enough food. In this article, we take a look at a detailed explanation of China’s Great Famine (1959-1961).
Contact Us