US first, Australia sixth in small arms imports By Inga Ting The United States has once again broken its own record as the top importer of small arms, according to new research that ranks Australia sixth among the world's biggest importers of weapons including rifles, revolvers and pistols.
American purchases alone made up more than 42 per cent of all small arms imports in 2013, according to the 2016 update of the Small Arms Survey, the most comprehensive record of the global trade in small arms and light weapons. 
The survey was partially funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The US imported nearly $US2.5 billion ($3.4 billion) in small arms in 2013, maintaining its record high since the survey began in 2001. It also exported an unprecedented $US1.1 billion in small arms.
The majority of arms traced in the Geneva-based report are for civilian use.
Australia ranked sixth in 2013, behind the United States, Canada, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
"Australia's gun culture is alive and well," said Philip Alpers, a University of Sydney public health researcher, gun control expert and founding director of GunPolicy.org.
"Even after destroying well over a million firearms ... we're still right up there."
He said less than 5 per cent of Australia's small arms imports in 2013 would have been for law enforcement agencies such as police.
Three-quarters of the world's 875 million firearms are in the hands of civilians, according to previous research by the Small Arms Survey.
Associate Professor Alpers said firearms had many legitimate uses, especially in primary production.
"Our relatively high disposable incomes, hunting and sporting traditions have made guns enduringly popular with hobbyists," he said.
Professor Alpers' own research tracking Australian firearm imports over the past 20 years showed the number of imports hit a high in 2014-15, following a 16-year surge in gun buying.
"I suspect that many Australians will be surprised to see their country ranking so high in the world for gun and ammunition imports," he said, adding that the Small Arms Survey data was not adjusted for population. "Australians import far more guns per person than people in other countries. But then, we don't have any domestic gun makers."
The report did not include a figure on the value of Australia's imports in 2013.
However, a previous edition of the survey showed Australians imported $163 million in small arms in 2012, an 85 per cent increase since 2007.
Among the other findings of the 2016 survey was the massive surge in small arms transfers to the Middle East. The value of purchases by major importers in this region surged by 84 per cent in one year to $US630 million in 2013.
Qatar had the most dramatic increase, with imports rocketing eight-fold in 2013 to $US16 million, up from $US2 million in 2012. Saudi Arabia's imports trebled to $US161 million. "The near-doubling of small arms transfers to the Middle East from 2012 to 2013 raises important questions," Small Arms Survey director Eric Berman said. "Do states rigorously assess the potential for diversion, destabilisation or human rights violations before exporting arms?"
United Nations member states agreed to significantly reduce illicit arms trade flows under goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, the survey revealed a 17 per cent jump in small arms deliveries from countries that exported more than $US10 million in 2013.
The Small Arms Survey tracks the international trade in ammunition and weapons such as assault rifles, pistols, sub-machineguns and revolvers using customs data reported to the UN.
It underestimates the true value and extent of the global trade in small arms because it relies on voluntary reporting.