KABUL, Afghanistan — Last year was the deadliest for civilians caught up in Afghanistan’s war since the United Nations began keeping records in 2009, the world body said Wednesday — a harbinger of the new dynamic of the conflict, in which insurgents and Afghan forces increasingly engage in face-to-face battles.

By almost any measure, 2014 was a grim year. Civilian casualties, which include deaths and injuries, were up 22 percent from the previous record set in 2013, and they surpassed 10,000 for the first time since the United Nations’ record-keeping began in Afghanistan. The numbers of women and children wounded or killed also reached highs.

Casualties caused by roadside bombs, suicide attackers and explosive devices soared to record levels. And for the Afghan security forces, 2014 was the deadliest year since the start of the war in 2001.

In large part, the surge in casualties is a result of the altered nature of the war. Almost no troops from the American-led international coalition are fighting anymore, and the air support once available to keep the Taliban from massing in large groups has been reduced.