A look at the dwindling ranks of Canadian peacekeepers over the years

OTTAWA — Canadian peacekeeping forces, which once numbered in the thousands, have dwindled to dozens in recent years, prompting the Liberal government to promise to re-engage in UN peace missions. On Monday, the government announced plans to send an aviation detachment of six helicopters to join a UN force in the west African country of Mali. A by-the-numbers look at Canada and peacekeeping: 175,000: The number of Canadian troops who have been deployed on peacekeeping missions over the last 60 years. More than 1,700: The number of Canadian deaths on peacekeeping missions. 25,000: The number of Canadian troops who served in Cyprus during almost 30 years of involvement there between 1964 and 1993. 59: The number of six-month rotations of Canadian troops through Cyprus in that period. 1: Canadian participation in Cyprus today. 3,285: The number of Canadian peacekeepers abroad at the end of 1992. 41: The number abroad at the end of last month. 6: Ranking of Canada among nations contributing to peace missions in 1995. 78: Ranking of Canada among nations contributing to peace missions as of last month. 500: The number of Canadian troops dispatched to the Sinai in 1956 in the first real UN peacekeeping deployment, the United Nations Emergency Force I. 1,007: Number of Canadians in UNEF in 1957. 40,000: Number of Canadian soldiers who fought in the Afghanistan war between 2001 and 2014.