A Closer Look at US Military Statistics in Iraq War

By MONIKA MATHUR

Associated Press Writer

 

A closer look at US military deaths in Iraq:

Percentages by service branch: Army: 72 percent; Marines: 24 percent; Navy: 2 percent; Air Force: 1 percent (Coast Guard had one death.)

Percentages by service force: Active duty: 83 percent; National Guard: 10 percent; Reserve: 6 percent.

Percent who died since President George W. Bush declared major combat ended: 97 percent

Months with the most deaths since the start of the war: November 2004: 137; April 2004: 135; May 2007: 126; December 2006: 112; January 2005: 107

Iraq provinces with most deaths since the start of war: Baghdad: 1,113; Anbar: 1,099; Salaheddin: 513; Nineveh: 220; Diyala: 136

Percentage killed by an improvised explosive device: 44 percent in 2007; 56 percent to date in 2008

Percent of deaths that were non-hostile: 18 percent

Number who died of illness: 66

Percent who were officers: 9 percent

Number older than 45 years: 83

Number who were age 18: 33

Number of women: 98

Percent of the dead who were women: 2 percent

Percentages by ethnic group: White: 75 percent; Hispanic or Latino: 11 percent;

Black or African American: 9 percent; Asian: 2 percent; multiple races, pending, or unknown: 1 percent; American Indian or Alaska Native: 1 percent; Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 1 percent

 

Note On Numbers: The numbers are based on counts by the Department of Defense and Associated Press. Most items are based on information obtained by the DoD for 4,000 deaths, as of March 23. The AP’s count, which includes deaths reported by news staff in Iraq, has been consistently somewhat ahead of the DOD’s. The percentages for minorities and officers and number of non-hostile illnesses were last updated as of March 1, 2008. Total deaths in AP’s calculations include eight civilians working for the military.