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Karp, Aaron. 2009 ‘Country Summaries - Peru.’ Surplus Arms in South America: A Survey; Working Paper 7, pp. 50-1. Geneva: Small Arms Survey, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. 1 August

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Country Summaries - Peru

Armed forces: The Peruvian army reports having 159,347 small arms, a large quantity given its current size. The air force is exceptionally well armed, with a higher proportion of small arms than most armies of the world, although it declares none surplus. The status of reserves and reserve equipment is unknown.

Law enforcement: Unlike the armed forces, the Peruvian national police keep the size of its weapons inventories secret. This study finds that the police have around 50,000 obsolescent small arms and light weapons in storage. Otherwise, police inventories must be estimated.

Civilian ownership: The Ministry of the Interior has a record of 236,338 firearms registered for civilian use in the country. According to non-governmental experts, though, the actual number of firearms in civilian hands is thought to total around 750,000, about two-thirds of which are probably unregistered.

Illegal markets are commonplace, especially in peripheral regions such as the Department of Puno on the Bolivian border. Demand for cheap and unregistered weapons grew during the Shining Path war, expanding a permanent market for illegal craft production of handguns and shotguns, often manufactured in factory quantities.

ID: Q5312

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