Importers
An analysis of customs data suggests that for the period 2001 to 2014 seven countries—Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States—routinely imported small arms, light weapons, their parts, accessories, and ammunition worth USD 100 million or more per year.
Customs data also suggests that thirteen additional countries imported at least USD 100 million or more in at least one year, between 2001 and 2014: Cyprus, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands Norway, Pakistan, Spain, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.
In 2014, ten countries—Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Iraq, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America—imported small arms, light weapons, their parts, accessories, and ammunition worth USD 100 million.
In the same year, the following fifty-three countries imported small arms and light weapons, their parts, accessories, and ammunition worth USD 10 million.
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Argentina
- Austria
- Belgium
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Chile
- Colombia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Estonia
- Finland
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Hungary
- Israel
- Italy
- Ivory Coast
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Luxembourg
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Morocco
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Russia / USSR (Former)
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
The United States is by far the biggest documented importer of small arms despite a drop in its import in 2014, when it imported USD 2.2 billion compared to USD 2.5 billion in 2013.
For additional 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 2017: Out of the Shadows.
Note: This data does not reflect transfers to and from all countries. Moreover, it excludes trade in many categories of light weapons ammunition and light weapons systems. It does not take the rate of inflation into account.
Small Arms Survey Publications
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Trade Update 2017: Out of the Shadows, by Paul Holtom and Irene Pavesi. September 2017.
Download (2.8 MB)
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Trade Update 2016: Transfers and Transparency, by Irene Pavesi. June 2016.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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The US Firearms Industry: Production and Supply, by Jurgen Brauer, February 2013. Working Paper No. 14.
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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.
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Small Arms Transfers: Importing States, November 2011. Research Note No. 12, Weapons and Markets (also available in Catalan and Spanish).
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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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
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The Militarization of Sudan: a Preliminary Review of Arms Flows and Holdings, April 2007. HSBA Issue Brief No. 6 (also available in Arabic)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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.
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Holtom, Paul. 2009. Reporting Tranfers of Light Arms and Small Weapons to the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, 2007. SIPRI Background Paper. Stockholm: SIPRI.
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Holtom, Paul. 2008. Transparency in Transfers of Small Arms and Light Weapons: Reports to the United Nations Register for Conventional Arms 2003-2006. Policy Paper 22. Stockholm: SIPRI.
Further Resources
- NISAT (Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers): Small Arms Trade Database
- UN Comtrade (UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database): Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof (2002-2010)
- SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute): Arms Transfers Database
- SIPRI: The Financial Value of the Global Arms Trade