War-torn Afghanistan: A look into the big numbers
By Zhang Dan
["china"]
America's longest war trudges on and the bodies continue to pile up.
Despite the toppling of the Taliban government, the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan has left the country beset by instability and stuck in economic turmoil, while also suffering from a major humanitarian crisis.
A US Navy Corpsman and US soldier take part in a helicopter Medevac exercise in Helmand province, Afghanistan, July 6, 2017. /Reuters Photo

A US Navy Corpsman and US soldier take part in a helicopter Medevac exercise in Helmand province, Afghanistan, July 6, 2017. /Reuters Photo

As of September 2017, there have been over 3,500 coalition deaths in Afghanistan as part of ongoing coalition operations since the invasion in 2001.
During the first five years of the war, the vast majority of coalition deaths were American, but between 2006 and 2011, a significant proportion were among other nations, particularly the United Kingdom and Canada.
The cost in civilian lives has also been high. As of 2016, civilian casualties in the conflict reached more than 70,000.
According to the United Nations, the summer of 2017 has been a bloody one in Afghanistan. The number of civilian deaths in the war has reached a record high, continuing an almost unbroken trend of nearly a decade of rising casualties. 
Civilian deaths and injuries in the Afghanistan conflict. /Source: UNAMA

Civilian deaths and injuries in the Afghanistan conflict. /Source: UNAMA

And so far, millions have been displaced.
The financial side of the conflict is also striking. According to the website "The Balance" which has been keeping track of the war's economic impact, Afghanistan has cost the US over a trillion dollars since the Bush administration launched its military intervention.
Cost of the Afghanistan conflict from 2001-2017. /Source: The Balance

Cost of the Afghanistan conflict from 2001-2017. /Source: The Balance

And that is over 3,300 US dollars per capita nationwide, and 170 million US dollars per day in 16 years.