Although arms proliferation is a global issue, available data on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) show that out of the 640 million circulating globally, it is estimated that 100 million are found in Africa, about 30 million in sub-Saharan Africa and eight million in West Africa, alone.
The majority of these SALW about 59% are in the hands of civilians, 38% are owned by government armed forces, 2.8 % by police and 0.2% by armed groups.
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