The Key Facts of the Arms Trade
The value of global authorized arms exports is $21 billion per year
There are 639 million small arms in the world, or one for every ten people, produced by over 1,000 companies in at least 98 countries.
8 million more small arms are produced every year
16 billion units of ammunition are produced each year - more than two new bullets for every man, woman and child on the planet.
Nearly 60 per cent of small arms are in civilian hands.
It is estimated that 80-90 per cent of all illegal small arms start in the state-sanctioned trade.
The human cost
More than 500,000 people on average are killed with conventional arms every year: one person every minute.
In World War One, 14 per cent of total casualties were civilian. In World War Two this grew to 67 per cent. In some of today’s conflicts the figure is even higher.
There are 300,000 child soldiers involved in conflicts.
Torture and ill-treatment by state officials - mostly armed police - was persistent in over 70 countries between 1997 and 2000.
Women and girls are raped at gunpoint during armed conflict – for example, 15,700 in Rwanda and 25,000 in Croatia and Bosnia.
One third of countries spend more on the military than they do on health-care services.
An average of US$22 billion a year is spent on arms by countries in Africa, Asia, Middle East and Latin America. Half of this amount would enable every girl and boy in those regions to go to primary school.
El Salvador’s expenditure on its health services to deal with the effects of violence amounts to more than 4 per cent of its GDP.
Nearly half (42 per cent) of countries with the highest defence burden rank among the lowest in human development. For example, Eritrea spends over 20 per cent of its GDP on military.
In Africa, economic losses due to war are about $15 billion per year.
Pakistan’s total defence spending is one-third of its annual GDP, or half if arms-related debt repayments are included.
Facts and Figures taken from Control Arms.org
The value of global authorized arms exports is $21 billion per year
There are 639 million small arms in the world, or one for every ten people, produced by over 1,000 companies in at least 98 countries.
8 million more small arms are produced every year
16 billion units of ammunition are produced each year - more than two new bullets for every man, woman and child on the planet.
Nearly 60 per cent of small arms are in civilian hands.
It is estimated that 80-90 per cent of all illegal small arms start in the state-sanctioned trade.
The human cost
More than 500,000 people on average are killed with conventional arms every year: one person every minute.
In World War One, 14 per cent of total casualties were civilian. In World War Two this grew to 67 per cent. In some of today’s conflicts the figure is even higher.
There are 300,000 child soldiers involved in conflicts.
Torture and ill-treatment by state officials - mostly armed police - was persistent in over 70 countries between 1997 and 2000.
Women and girls are raped at gunpoint during armed conflict – for example, 15,700 in Rwanda and 25,000 in Croatia and Bosnia.
One third of countries spend more on the military than they do on health-care services.
An average of US$22 billion a year is spent on arms by countries in Africa, Asia, Middle East and Latin America. Half of this amount would enable every girl and boy in those regions to go to primary school.
El Salvador’s expenditure on its health services to deal with the effects of violence amounts to more than 4 per cent of its GDP.
Nearly half (42 per cent) of countries with the highest defence burden rank among the lowest in human development. For example, Eritrea spends over 20 per cent of its GDP on military.
In Africa, economic losses due to war are about $15 billion per year.
Pakistan’s total defence spending is one-third of its annual GDP, or half if arms-related debt repayments are included.
Facts and Figures taken from Control Arms.org
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