Examining the Global Proliferation
of Craft-Produced Weapons
*The gures refer to the number of respondent countries per type of weapons and manufacturing techniques.
More than one option could be selected by respondents.
WHAT ARE CRAFT-PRODUCED SALW?
They lack a universally agreed denition, and are also
referred to as artisanal, improvised, homemade weapons or
privately-made rearms.
They are fabricated in a non-industrial manner and present
dierent levels of sophistication, from rudimentary to
high-tech manufacturing.
WHAT TYPES OF SALW ARE CRAFT-PRODUCED?*
HOW ARE THEY PRODUCED?*
WHERE ARE CRAFT-PRODUCED SALW
MANUFACTURED AND/OR USED?**
WHY THE FOCUS ON CRAFT-PRODUCED SALW?
Illicitly craft-produced small arms and light weapons
(SALW) are increasingly used in episodes of armed violence,
terrorism, and criminality across all regions of the world.
They pose signicant challenges for regulation, detection
and control.
** UNIDIR recognizes that countries that are not highlighted in the map might also be aected by the issue of craft production of SALW.
This map will be updated for the global study to be published in June 2024.
UNREGULATED
Countries that responded to the survey indicating production and/or use
Countries identied in open sources indicating production and/or use
SUB-MACHINE GUNS,
MACHINE GUNS, HEAVY MACHINE GUNS
GRENADE LAUNCHERS AND MORTARS
PISTOLS, REVOLVERS AND OTHER HANDGUNS
SHOTGUNS
RIFLES
3
7
18
21
24
REACTIVATION OF DEACTIVATED
WEAPONS
3D PRINTING
CRAFT PRODUCTION OF ENTIRE SALW
CONVERSION OF BLANK
FIRING WEAPONS
ASSEMBLY OF INDUSTRIALLY-
PRODUCED SALW COMPONENTS
11
12
13
14
22
In June 2024, UNIDIR will present a
global study on crafted-produced
SALW to increase knowledge
and understanding on prolif-
eration trends,
and raise
awareness of
the challeng-
es for prevent-
ing and addressing their illicit
proliferation, tracking, and
misuse.
This factsheet presents a prelim-
inary and non-exhaustive overview
of the information collected from 43
States, as well as United Nations
entities, regional organizations, and
civil society actors.
This factsheet is intended to support
preparations for the Fourth Review
Conference on the implementation of
the Programme of Action (PoA) and
International Tracing Instrument
(ITI).
