Karp, Aaron. 2018 ‘Global Breakdown of Firearms Numbers.’ Small Arms Survey 2018: Estimating Global Civilian-held Firearms Numbers, p. 4. Geneva: Small Arms Survey. 18 June

Relevant contents

Global breakdown of firearms numbers

At the end of 2017 there were approximately 1,013 million firearms in the 230 countries and autonomous territories of the world, 84.6 per cent of which were held by civilians, 13.1 per cent by state militaries, and 2.2 per cent by law enforcement agencies.

The 2017 combined global total of 1,013 million firearms is higher than the previously published Small Arms Survey global total of 875 million firearms in 2006, an increase of 15.7 per cent for all identified firearms. Much of this change is due to an increase of 32 per cent in the estimated civilian-held firearms total. Reported global totals for the law enforcement and military categories show net decreases, mostly due to changes in estimating procedures. While the global total for 2017 is significantly higher than that in 2006, not all changes at the country level are due to a growth of civilian firearms holdings. Some variations since 2006 are also affected by the availability of more complete reporting or more comprehensive estimates.

Every effort has been made to ensure the reliability of Small Arms Survey data, but not all entries are equally complete.
In some areas - especially law enforcement and the military - some government agencies and stockpiles may have been
missed. The Survey methodology counts all firearms equally, although they can vary greatly in capability, reliability, and durability.

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