Authorized Trade
In 2008, the Small Arms Survey launched a multi-year comprehensive review of the authorized trade in small arms, light weapons, and their parts, accessories, and ammunition. The 2009 Small Arms Survey examines the trade in firearms: pistols, revolvers, shotguns, rifles, and machine guns. Ammunition for small arms and light weapons is assessed in the 2010 edition. The 2011 edition will examine the trade in light weapons, including portable guided missiles and launchers (such as anti-tank weapons and man-portable air-defence systems, or MANPADS); portable rocket launchers; mortars up to and including calibres of 120 mm; recoilless rifles and guns; and hand-held, under-barrel, and automatic grenade launchers. In 2012 the Survey will evaluate parts and accessories and provide an estimate for the annual value of the total trade in small arms, light weapons, their parts, accessories, and ammunition.
The Survey's analysis consists of a thorough examination of data published by governments and is supplemented by field research, interviews with key officials, and information collected at arms shows. Peer-reviewed methodologies have been developed to extrapolate from limited data and assess the value of unreported authorized transfers. To date, the Small Arms Survey has reviewed tens of thousands of records of arms transfers from customs data, national reports, government procurement documentation, and the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms; conducted dozens of interviews with government officials and industry executives; and commissioned research on key geographic areas.
The findings to date indicate that the value of the trade in small arms and light weapons is worth significantly more than the Small Arms Survey’s previous estimate of USD 4 billion per year. A final dollar value estimate for the annual trade in small arms, light weapons, and their parts, accessories, and ammunition will be published following the completion of the multi-year study in 2012.
Annual Export and Import Data
Download annual authorized small arms and light weapons imports and exports for major importers and exporters (yearly imports and sales of at least USD 10 million):
- 2008 (see also Methodology)
- 2007 (see also Methodology)
- 2006 (see also Methodology)
- 2005
- 2004
Small Arms Survey Publications
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Small Arms Transfers: Importing States, November 2011. Research Note No. 12, Weapons and Markets (also available in Catalan and Spanish).
Download (245.05 KB)
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Small Arms Transfers: Exporting States, October 2011. Research Note No. 11, Weapons and Markets (also available in Catalan and Spanish).
Download (236.45 KB)
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Larger but Less Know: Authorized Light Weapons Transfers, by Patrick Herron et al., 2011. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2011: States of Security.
Download (1.61 MB)
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Scraping the Barrel: The Trade in Surplus Ammunition, April 2011. Issue Brief No. 2
Download (1.6 MB)
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Emerging from Obscurity: The Global Ammunition Trade, by Patrick Herron et al., 2010. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2010: Gangs, Groups, and Guns.
Download (4.76 MB)
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Skirting the Law: Post-CPA Arms Flows to Sudan, by Mike Lewis, September 2009. Working Paper No. 18 (also available in Arabic)
Download
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Sifting the Sources: Authorized Small Arms Transfers, by Pablo Dreyfus et al., 2009. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2009: Shadows of War.
Download (2.53 MB)
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Trading Life, Trading Death: The Flow of Small Arms from Mozambique to Malawi, by Gregory Mthembu-Salter, January 2009. Working Paper No. 6
Download (396.63 KB)
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Who’s Buying? End-user Certification, by Glenn McDonald, 2008. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2008: Risk and Resilience. ../fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/Special/SAS-Small-Arms-Control-Measures-and-ATT.pdf
Download (5.04 MB)
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Probing the Grey Area: Irresponsible Small Arms Transfers, by Anne-Kathrin Glatz and Lora Lumpe, 2007. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City.
Download (2.45 MB)
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Back to Basics: Transfer Controls in Global Perspective, by Glenn McDonald, Sahar Hassan, and Chris Stevenson, 2007. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City.SAS-Small-Arms-Control-Measures-and-ATT
Download (2.68 MB)
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What Price the Kalashnikov? The Economics of Small Arms, by Phillip Killicoat, 2007. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City.
Download (2.64 MB)
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Buying the Bullet: Authorized Small Arms Ammunition Transfers, by Anne-Kathrin Glatz, 2006. In Stéphanie Pézard and Holger Anders, eds. Targeting Ammunition: A Primer.
Download (1.26 MB)
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Targeting Ammunition: A Primer, edited by Stéphanie Pézard and Holger Anders, co-published with CICS, GRIP, SEESAC, and Viva Rio, June 2006.
More information
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An Uphill Battle: Understanding Small Arms Transfers, by Pablo Dreyfus and Anna Khakee with Anne-Kathrin Glatz, 2006. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2006: Unfinished Business.
Download (1.35 MB)
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Reaching for the Big Picture: An Update on Small Arms Transfers, by Anna Khakee, 2005. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2005: Weapons at War.
Download (299.4 KB)
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Back to the Sources: International Small Arms Transfers, by Anna Khakee, 2004. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2004: Rights at Risk.
Download (447.71 KB)
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Beyond the Kalashnikov: Small Arms Production, Exports, and Stockpiles in the Russian Federation, by Maxim Pyadushkin with Maria Haug and Anna Matveeva, August 2003. Occasional Paper No. 10
Download (212.98 KB)
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Insights and Mysteries: Global Small Arms Transfers, by Nicholas Marsh and Aaron Karp, 2003. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2003: Development Denied.
Download (918.42 KB)
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Making Global Public Policy: The Case of Small Arms and Light Weapons, by Edward Laurence and Rachel Stohl, December 2002. Occasional Paper No. 7
Download (292.02 KB)
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The Legal-Illicit Link: Global Small Arms Transfers. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2002: Counting the Human Cost.
Download (1.51 MB)
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Small Arms Availability, Trade, and Impacts in the Republic of Congo, commissioned by IOM and the UNDP, by Spyros Demetriou, Robert Muggah and Ian Biddle, April 2002. Special Report No. 2
Download (720.11 KB)
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Shining a Light on Small Arms Exports: The Record of State Transparency, by Maria Haug, Martin Langvandslien, Lora Lumpe, and Nic Marsh, co-published with NISAT, January 2002. Occasional Paper No. 4
Download (419.91 KB)
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Fuelling the Flames: Brokers and Transport Agents in the Illicit Arms Trade, by Deborah Berlinck and Spyros Demetriou, 2001. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2001: Profiling the Problem.
Download (1.15 MB)
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A Thriving Trade: Global Legal Small Arms Transfers, by Maria Haug, 2001. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2001: Profiling the Problem.
Download (427.25 KB)
Other Publications
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Solmirano, Carina and Pieter D. Wezeman. 2010. Military Spending and Arms Procurement in the Gulf States. SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) Fact Sheet. October. Stockholm: SIPRI.
Download
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Karp, Aaron. 2006. Escaping Reuterswärd’s shadow. Contemporary Security Policy, Vol. 27, No. 1. April, pp. 12-28.
More information
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Schroeder, Matthew, Dan Smith, and Rachel Stohl. 2006. The Small Arms Trade: A Beginner's Guide. London: Oneworld Publications
Further Resources
- FAS (Federation of American Scientists): U.S. Arms Transfers - Government Data
- NISAT (Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers): Small Arms Trade Database
- SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute): National Reports on Arms Export
- SIPRI: Arms Transfers Database
- SIPRI: The Financial Value of the Global Arms Trade
- UN Comtrade (UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database): Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof (2002-2010)
