OPERATIONAL Afghanistan: 6,000 Bosnia and Kosovo: 820 Iraq: 7,100 UN missions: 290 Northern Ireland: 8,050 MoD figures as of 23/01/07 NON-OPERATIONAL Germany: 22,500* Cyprus: 2,700 South Atlantic Islands: 1,200 Gibraltar: 560 Diego Garcia: 40 * - Figure includes troops deployed in Iraq According to the MoD, operational deployments are those announced by the defence secretary in parliament involving commitment to a specific theatre. Non-operational deployments do not involve a fighting role.

Iraq is the army's highest profile but not biggest deployment abroad

By far the most high profile UK commitment overseas is Operation Telic - the name given to the deployment of 7,100 personnel in Iraq.

Since the end of the war in April 2003, they have been helping to restore essential infrastructure and services and provide security.

UK forces are largely based in the south of the country, mainly in Basra.

Although Basra is regarded as being more peaceful than the volatile capital Baghdad, a recent upsurge in violence has put British forces at the front line more often.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said in February 2007 that some 1,600 troops would be withdrawn within the next few months.

The announcement followed the completion of Operation Sinbad which was designed to put Iraqis in charge of Basra's security.

The withdrawal will bring the total number of troops to 5,500, with hopes that another 500 will leave by late summer.

But Mr Blair stressed Britain's commitment would be maintained as long as it was needed, with remaining personnel staying into 2008 to give back-up, training and to secure borders.

At present the UK has some 5,800 troops stationed in Afghanistan, following a US-led invasion in October 2001.

British troops were part of the Nato effort to rebuild the country's infrastructure.

In May this year the Army took over from the US in the volatile south of the country as part of an expanded Nato presence.

The majority of the deployment is in Helmand - an area of major Taleban activity and opium production.

The deployment was predicted to cost £1bn over the three years that the Ministry of Defence expected it to last.

Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) mission will number about 15,000 soldiers when it reaches its peak.

A small deployment remains in Kosovo, helping to provide stability following the end of the conflict of the late 1990s.

The province is administered by the UN, which is working to reconcile the majority ethnic Albanians and the Serb minority.

In March 2005, extra British troops were sent to the province at the request of Nato following renewed tension.

As with Kosovo, the role of British armed forces in Bosnia is one of peacekeeping.

A European Union-led force, Eufor, is responsible for safeguarding peace and stability following the inter-ethnic war of 1992-95, in which about 250,000 people died.

The Ministry of Defence is involved in supporting a wide range of United Nations missions in countries around the world.

About 300 British troops are deployed as part of the UN operations, in countries including Sierra Leone, Cyprus, Congo, Sudan, Liberia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Georgia.

There is still a sizeable army presence in Northern Ireland

Some 8,500 British troops are still stationed in Northern Ireland. They are on operation there until 2007.

According to the MoD earlier this year: "The mission of the armed forces in Northern Ireland is to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland in the defeat of terrorism and the maintenance of Public Order in order to assist Her Majesty's government's objective of returning Northern Ireland to normality."

Although much smaller than its deployment in Germany at the height of the Cold War, the UK retains about 22,500 troops in the country - its largest overseas contingent by far. Some 7,200 personnel based in Germany are currently deployed in Iraq.

Germany provides an important base for training and many of the troops are involved in the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, of which Britain is the lead nation.

Although Cyprus has been an independent republic since the 1960s, Britain retains two areas of sovereign territory on the island which it uses as bases for 3,100 troops.

Covering 98 square miles, the bases are used to give the UK a foothold at a strategic point in the Mediterranean.

In particular, the MoD describes RAF Akrotiri as "an important staging post for military aircraft".

Nearly 25 years after the end of the Falklands War, Britain retains a strong presence on the islands, with more than 1,000 troops stationed there.

While the status of the British Overseas Territory is still disputed by Argentina, the personnel are also involved in tasks including road building and mine clearance.

In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, far-flung Ascension Island was used as a staging post during the Falklands War - a role it retains.

The British troops there are linked to the UK by regular flights to RAF Brize Norton and a six-weekly cargo ship from the MoD.

Considered an important base in the Mediterranean, Gibraltar is home to more than 560 British troops.

The MoD says the Rock is "well situated to observe shipping channels through the straits and it could dominate the western entrance to the Mediterranean in time of war".

The British territory of Diego Garcia, in the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, has been a military base since the island was leased to the US in the 1970s.

About 40 British personnel are stationed at the base at any one time.

The Royal Navy was involved in Sri Lanka after the tsunami

After the Asian tsunami disaster, British forces were involved in providing emergency relief to the stricken areas - delivering supplies and helping with rebuilding work.

Late last year, a small force was deployed to Ivory Coast to evacuate British citizens as violence flared.

Such "one-off" operations often fall to the military, requiring the rapid deployment of personnel.

Other overseas deployments include training, exchanges and "loans" to armed forces in countries like Belize, Brunei, Canada, Kenya, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia.