Weapons trade
The arms dealing consists in furnishing with weapons or with ammunition an entity (group fighting, criminal association, state) by violating international regulations on arms sales. Its definition remains unclear, many arms sales being made on the "gray market" of weapons.
According to the UN, the arms trade is one of the three most lucrative illegal activities with drug trafficking and prostitution. The international market for arms trafficking is estimated at 1200 billion dollars per year. It was estimated in 2004 to 500 million small arms circulating in the world [2], weapons that are not subject to any international treaty - over 100 million in Africa, a weapon for 12 people.
The legal sales
The United States arrive at the head(top) of the producers of weapons, with 55 % of the exports, followed by the United Kingdom (17 %), Russia (8 %), France (6 %), Israel (4 %) and Germany (3 %).Weapons represent an important piece of the world economy. So, they represented 4,4 % of the French total exports between 1980 and 1988 and 4,8 % for the United Kingdom.
In 2005 the annual report of the Congress of the United States on arms sales in the world considered that in 2004 the total value of the sale contracts of weapons (and any associated services) worldwide was 37 billion dollars, while previous year it was 28,5 billion dollars. In 2000 she(it) reached(affected) 42,1 billion dollars. If we consider either contracts, but deliveries, the value for 2004 is 34,8 billion dollars, about stable in constant currency(change) since 2000.
On the other hand, the body Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates the world volume of the transactions(deals) at approximately 34 billion from dollars to 2000 and 50 billions in 2004. Between 2002 and 2006 the sales of armament of the North southward increased by 50 %.
the problems of definition of illegal traffic
Number of arms sales made by sovereign States is made on the "grey" market, on