UNITED NATIONS - The United States far outnumbers other countries in civilian firearm holding, with its 4 percent population holding more than 40 percent of the world's civilian-owned firearms last year, a survey said on Monday.

Of the 857 million civilian-held firearms estimated in 2017, 393 million were in the US, more than those held by civilians in the other top 25 countries combined, said the latest issue of Geneva-based Small Arms Survey.

The growth of civilian holdings in the US also contributed disproportionately to the increase of the firearms stockpile, which saw acquisition around 14 million guns annually during the last five years, according to Aaron Karp, an author of the survey, who held a news conference on Monday on the sidelines of a review conference on illicit small arms and light weapons.

In terms of ownership rates, the survey said every 100 US residents owned 121 firearms, with the number being 53 in Yemen and 39 in Montenegro. At the other end of the spectrum, residents in Indonesia and Japan held less than one firearm per 100 people.

Overall, the survey put the global circulation of firearms as of 2017 at one billion, with 857 million (85 percent) in civilian hands, 133 million (13 percent) in military arsenals and 23 million (2 percent) owned by law enforcement.

It also noted the diversity in civilian stockpile in terms of types of firearms. "They can include improvised craft weapons, factory-made handguns, rifles, shotguns, and in some countries even machine guns."

It specified that civilian holdings comprised not only weapons held by individuals but also those possessed by private security firms, nonstate armed groups and gangs.

During the work of this research, the Small Arms Survey saw an increase of information availability on civilian holdings. However, it did not see the same level of transparency for armed forces and law enforcement agencies.

Civilian firearms registration data was available for 133 countries and territories, but only 28 countries released information on their military stockpiles and 28 did so regarding their law enforcement firearms holdings, it said.

Unique challenge

In a message to the conference, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked for more efforts to address the thorny issue of regulating and controlling small arms.

"Regulating small arms is a unique challenge. It is not simply a question of addressing government stockpiles. Out of some 900 million small arms in the world, three-quarters are in civilian hands - the majority unlicensed," he said.

Every year, over half a million people are killed violently around the world, mostly through small-arms fire, he said.

Those pulling the trigger may be soldiers, border guards or police, using their weapons as a last resort, in accordance with the principles of necessity, proportionality and restraint. Some are private security guards or civilians, using a registered firearm for protection or in self-defense. But the huge majority of those who kill with small arms do not fit this description, said the UN chief.

"They may be members of armed groups who are terrorizing people of a country or a whole region with killings and sexual abuse. They could be members of national security forces who are abusing their power. They might be terrorists aiming to destroy lives and sow fear; criminals holding up a grocery store; or gang members killing those who get in the way of a drug deal."

Small arms are often a factor in large-scale human rights abuses and the forced displacement of civilians, he added.

Xinhua - Ap