Global Workforce
| State Department employees: | 57,299 |
| Foreign Service officers: | 11,242 |
| Employees serving abroad: | 7,587* |
| U.S. diplomatic missions overseas: | 266 |
| Countries with which the United States has diplomatic relations: | 188 |
*Foreign Service and civil service employees
Source: State Department
Dangerous Jobs
Foreign Service personnel who serve in unaccompanied posts cannot bring their family members with them, usually because the location is too dangerous. The Bush administration has deployed more of the Foreign Service to dangerous locales, particularly Iraq and Afghanistan. Since shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks, the number of unaccompanied posts has doubled, and the number of positions at those posts has tripled.
| June 2001 | Current | |
|---|---|---|
| Unaccompanied posts | 10 | 22 |
| Unaccompanied positions* | 203 | 700 |
Source: State Department
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