Exporters
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Russian Federation, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States of America routinely report annual exports of small arms, light weapons, their parts, accessories, and ammunition worth USD 100 million or more.
Between 2001 and 2017, the Survey has documented twelve other governments that have exported USD 100 million or more in small arms at least once: Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Israel, Japan, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
In 2017, 38 states were major exporters—i.e. they exported at least USD 10 million worth of small arms and light weapons, including their parts, accessories, and ammunition—the same number as in 2016. Among them, 17 were top exporters—with small arms exports equal to or above USD 100 million.
For information on annual authorized small arms and light weapons exports and imports by major exporter and importer (annual transfers of at least USD 10 million) as reported in UN Comtrade, see the Trade Update 2020: An Eye on Ammunition Transfers to Africa.
Note: This data, which does not reflect transfers to and from all countries, excludes trade in many categories of light weapons ammunition and light weapons systems, including portable guided missiles.
Small Arms Survey Publications
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Trade Update 2020: An Eye on Ammunition Transfers to Africa, by Nicolas Florquin, Elodie Hainard, and Benjamin Jongleux. Report, December 2020.
Download (4.69 MB)
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Trade Update 2019: Transfers, Transparency, and South-east Asia Spotlight, by Michael Picard, Paul Holtom, and Fiona Mangan. Report, December 2019.
Download (5.02 MB)
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Trade Update 2018: Sub-Saharan Africa in Focus, by Paul Holtom and Irene Pavesi. December 2018.
Download (3.63 MB)
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Trade Update 2017: Out of the Shadows, by Paul Holtom and Irene Pavesi. September 2017.
Download (2.99 MB)
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Trade Update 2016: Transfers and Transparency, by Irene Pavesi. June 2016.
Download (4.71 MB)
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Trade Update: After the 'Arab Spring', by Paul Holtom and Christelle Rigual, 2015. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2015: Weapons and the World.
Download (677.36 KB)
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Small Arms of the Indian State: A Century of Procurement and Production, January 2014. India Armed Violence Assessment Issue Brief No. 4 (also available in Hindi).
Download
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Trade Update: Authorized Small Arms Transfers, by Irene Pavesi and Christelle Rigual, 2013. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2013: Everyday Dangers.
Download (2.12 MB)
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The US Firearms Industry: Production and Supply, by Jurgen Brauer, February 2013. Working Paper No. 14.
Download (1.82 MB)
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Piece by Piece: Authorized Transfers of Parts and Accessories, by Janis Grzybowski, Nicholas Marsh, and Matt Schroeder, 2012. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets.
Download (1.33 MB)
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Assessing Transparency in Small Arms Exports: The Small Arms Trade Transparency Barometer, August 2012. Research Note No. 20, Weapons and Markets.
Download (277.1 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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Small Arms in Brazil: Production, Trade, and Holdings, by Pablo Dreyfus, Benjamin Lessing, Marcelo de Sousa Nascimento, and Júlio Cesar Purcena, a joint publication of Viva Rio, ISER, and the Small Arms Survey, September 2010. Special Report No. 11
Download (5.43 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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Devils in Diversity: Export Controls for Military Small Arms, by Sarah Parker, 2009. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2009: Shadows of War.
Download (2.68 MB)
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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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A Guide to the US Small Arms Market, Industry, and Exports, by Tamar Gabelnick, Maria Haug, and Lora Lumpe, September 2006. Occasional Paper No. 19
Download (1.69 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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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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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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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)
Further Resources
- FAS (Federation of American Scientists): U.S. Arms Transfers - Government Data
- NISAT (Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers): Small Arms Trade Database
- SECO (Secrétariat d'Etat à l'économie - Switzerland): Matériel de guerre, chiffres et statistiques
- 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 (United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database): Arms and Ammunition (parts and accessories thereof - 2002-2010)