The international debate on the purpose of Nato’s mission in Afghanistan has intensified over recent months, as the Taliban stronghold has increased and the military death toll risen sharply.

According to a leaked report by Stanley McChrystal, the US general in charge of Nato and US forces in Afghanistan, reversing the Taliban’s gains will depend on the Afghan government’s ability to improve governance and service provision to win popular support. In this graphic, the FT looks at the work of the provincial reconstruction teams (the groups of soldiers and civilians working on development missions) run by the nine leading nations in the International Security Assistance Force, to assess their activities and establish indicators of success.