War Contractors: The Numbers on American vs. Foreign Workers in Iraq and Afghanistan

by T. Christian Miller
ProPublica, June 19, 2009, 7 p.m.

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Nationality of Civilian Contractors Reported Working in Iraq and Afghanistan

	Number of Workers	Percent of Total Workers
Foreign Workers*	45,194	67%
American Workers	22,465	33%

Source: U.S. Central Command, July 2007

Nationality of Civilian Contractors Reported Injured or Killed in Iraq and Afghanistan

	Number of Injuries	Percent of Total Injuries
Foreign Workers*	3,079	14%
American Workers	18,701	86%

Source: Labor Department, January 2008. The Labor Department does not track the nationality of each civilian contractor. It does, however, maintain the mailing addresses for claimants receiving benefits. The figures above reflect country data derived from those mailing addresses as a rough proxy for nationality. The Los Angeles Times obtained the data as part of the settlement of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed against the Labor Department.

*Excludes Iraqi and Afghan workers

For more on our investigation on injured war contractors, go to Disposable Army: Civilian Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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