According to an 2012 issues brief by the Council on Foreign Relations, the financial value of the illegal trafficking of small arms and light weapons is worth $1 Billion a year.
This figure is higher than the previously reported figure of $170 Million to $320 Million that was reported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2010.
Source: “The Global Regime for Transnational Crime,” Council on Foreign Relations, Issue Brief, July 2, 2012.