The BBC news has stated that $70 billion is spent on the conventional arms trade each year. This was true in 2010 and the budgets have increased since then. Basically it is the rich countries manufacturing and selling most of these arms.
If the global population is 7 billion, that makes it $10 per person in the world, and rising each year that is spent on conventional arms.
Given that over half the world’s population earns less than $1 a day and that we have finite resources on the planet, does this make sense? The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs is meeting this week to try to broker a treaty to reduce this spending. It is getting little publicity because there are so many other news stories running.
Click to access ATT_Fact_Sheet.pdf
Here are some facts and figures:
Amnesty International have published a beginner’s guide:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/news-item/global-arms-trade-treaty-a-beginners-guide
Which 5 countries buy the most armms?
http://www.top5ofanything.com/index.php?h=37cbe216
World military spending is increaind rapidly:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending
Which 5 countries manufacture the most arms?
http://top5ofanything.com/index.php?h=3de39a18
Categories of weapons:
http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/dnp/sub1.asp?ipage=weapons
World military spending on arms is increasing:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending
See ‘good news on arms control treaty‘
alwayasearching 
Reblogged this on clementsgeoff and commented:
Money that would be better used helping refugees