March 19/20, 2014 marks the 11th anniversary of the US invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. Many of the statistics that have come out of the country over the past 11 years are simply incomprehensible in scope and meaning (particularly to people living in the relative safety of the US or Europe). So, I tried to take 11 of these stats/numbers and place them within an “everyday” (predominantly US) context. The result, I think, is a better—often horrific—understanding of what these numbers mean in human terms.

(I am aware that some of these numbers are in perpetual dispute, but I have attempted to use reliable sources. I have also rounded them off, and in some cases indicated a range. Links provided are occasionally only one or two of several checked.)