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Mapping Arms Data: Visualizing global exports and imports of small arms and ammunition

“The Mapping Arms Data (MAD) visualization project is produced by PRIO and the Igarapé Institute. It represents an upgrade  of the original global small arms, light weapons and ammunition visualization produced by Google as part of the Google Ideas INFO (Illicit Networks Forces in Opposition) Summit with support from the Igarapé Institute. The data features over  71,000 records of the exports and imports of small arms, light weapons and ammunition from more than 262 states and  territories between 1992 and 2011. The updated tool incorporates additional data and new features and is available here. The original tool is still available here.  The underlying information for MAD is based upon 37 different data sources – including national export reports, the UN  Statistics Division’s Commodity Trade Statistics Database known as COMTRADE, and the UN Register of Conventional Arms. The data covers the period between 1992 and 2011 and documents the global transfer of firearms and ammunition  from across 262 states and territories. It has then been analyzed and aggregated by PRIO, and all the source data is publicly  available on PRIO’s NISAT database.  The data contained covers the country of export, country of import, type of armament being transferred (military, civilian or ammunition) and the financial value of the transaction in (USD).”

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