Small Arms Survey 2007

The Small Arms Survey 2007 features a special focus on the complex issue of urban violence.

Reviews knowledge about gangs and non-state armed groups worldwide, and interventions designed to curb the risks associated with them.

This volume highlights emerging trends and concerns regarding armed violence and small arms proliferation along with related policies and programming.

The Small Arms Survey 2013 explores the many faces of armed violence outside the context of armed conflict. Chapters on the use of firearms in intimate partner violence, the evolution of gangs in Nicaragua, Italian organised crime groups, and trends in armed violence in South Africa describe the dynamics and effects of gun violence in the home and on the street. Many of the chapters in the 'weapons and markets' section zero in on the use of specific weapons by particular armed actors, such as drug-trafficking organisations and insurgents. These include chapters on the prices of arms and ammunition at illicit markets in Lebanon, Pakistan and Somalia; illicit weapons recovered in Mexico and the Philippines; and the impacts of improvised explosive devices on civilians. Chapters on the Second Review Conference of the UN Programme of Action and the industrial demilitarisation industry round out the 2013 volume.

This title includes information and analysis on global small arms production, stockpiles and legal and illicit transfers, and a review of international, regional and national measures to address the issue of small arms proliferation.

States and organisations recognise the centrality of international assistance to help states prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons (SALW). However, addressing SALW remains a serious challenge for many states. States and organizations have yet to tackle important questions about the practices of delivering, evaluating, and measuring SALW assistance. This report explores these questions and highlights areas where further work remains to be done. Looking partly through an aid-effectiveness lens, this report aims to help the international community work toward ensuring that assistance is being used optimally and that states are measurably benefiting.

In 2007, the Small Arms Survey estimated the number of civilian firearm ownership world-wide at approximately 650 million weapons out of some 875 then in existence (see Figures 1 and 2). National ownership rates range from a high of 90 firearms per every 100 people in the United States, to one firearm or less for every 100 residents in countries like South Korea and Ghana (see Table 1). With the world's factories delivering millions of newly manufactured firearms annually, and with far fewer being destroyed, civilian ownership is growing (Small Arms Survey, 2007, p. 39).

Abstract: This paper introduces the first effort to quantitatively document the small arms market by collating field reports and journalist accounts to produce a cross-country time-series price index of Kalashnikov assault rifles. A model of the small arms market is developed and empirically estimated to identify the key determinants of assault rifle prices. Variables which proxy the effective height of trade barriers for illicit trade are consistently significant in determining weapon price variation. When controlling for other factors, the collapse of the Soviet Union does not have as large an impact on weapon prices as is generally believed.

The Small Arms Survey 2008 examines the problem of diversion and analyses the public health approach to armed violence.