Tag Archives: casualties

data, human rights maps, international relations, war

Human Rights Maps (147): Casualties in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars Between 2004 and 2010

Based on the Wikileaks data, this map by Max Braun dramatizes the number of casualties by way of “drops of blood” on the location of each casualty:

casualties in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars Between 2004 and 2010

casualties in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars Between 2004 and 2010

(source)

It’s obviously an exaggeration. And there’s nothing wrong with that in this case because it’s clear that the map doesn’t intend to convey statistically accurate information, although it is based on it (see here). The exaggeration is a deliberate tool in the dramatization of the wars, and that’s OK because war is tragic. However, exaggeration often occurs in statistics – meaning in forms of communication meant to convey accurate information. And then it’s a problem. There’s an example here.

Statistics in map form are particularly vulnerable to this: putting events on a map quickly overloads the map and gives the impression that a phenomenon is much more common than it really is. Take for instance the map below, which makes it look like the U.S. and especially the east of the U.S. is inundated by hate crime groups:

us_map hate crime groups

map of hate crime groups

(source)

This can give an altogether misleading message.

Similar maps about casualties in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars are here, here and here. More human rights maps in general are here. More on the war on terror is here.

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data, human rights maps, international relations, war

Human Rights Maps (139): Casualties in the War in Iraq, 2004-2009

The Wikileaks Iraq war logs have made it possible to map the occurrence of violent death during the Iraq war:

wikileaks iraq war deaths

Wikileaks, mapping of Iraq war deaths

(source, where you can zoom in on the map)

This follows more or less closely the population density of Iraq, meaning that the war has been equally horrible for everyone, with the exception of some parts of the north of the country where violent death has been somewhat less common:

iraq population density map

Iraq population density map

(source)

Some key figures:

  • The Wikileaks database records 109,032 deaths in total, 66,081 civilians, 23,984 insurgents and 15,196 Iraqi security forces. Baghdad alone saw 45,497 casualties. Colation forces lost 3,771 soldiers in the period covered.
  • There were 65,439 IED explosions (improvised explosive devices), resulting in 31,780 deaths. Another 44,620 IEDs were found and cleared.
  • Here’s how some of these numbers evolved over time:

total death and wounded in Iraq war

(source)

iraq body count

(source)

These numbers are probably low estimates because not every event is recorded.

Let’s focus on Baghdad for an instant, the epicenter of violence. December 2006 was the worst month. Below are the details of one of the city’s deadliest days, Dec. 20. There were 114 separate episodes of violence that day, resulting in the deaths of about 160 Iraqi citizens and police officers (an interactive version of the map is here).

fatalities in baghdad 2

fatalities in baghdad

(source, click image to enlarge)

More maps on Iraq here and here. More human rights maps in general are here.

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