McNab bases that estimate on the 'apparent' strength of the Chinese armed forces of 10 million (3 million regular troops and 5-7 million reservists) and presumed export sales. In his 2001 book 'The AK-47', Chris McNab claims it is 'feasible' that production of the Chinese Type 56 assault rifle вЂ“ a license-built AK-47 copy вЂ“ reached 15-20 million. Various sources quote figures between 35 and 150 million. Д®stimates put the production of firearm cartridges at 10-14 billion per year according to Oxfam, or 27-38 million a day.Д®stimates of production of the Kalashnikov AK-47 and derivative weapons may be exaggerated. Law enforcement agencies control about 23 million (about 2 percent) of the global total of small arms. This amounts to '120.5 firearms for every 100 residents.' The world's armed forces control about 133 million (about 13 percent) of the global total of small arms, of which over 43 percent belong to two countries, the Russian Federation (30.3 million) and the People's Republic of China (27.5 million).

civilians alone account for 393 million (about 46 percent) of the worldwide total of civilian held firearms. In 2018, Small Arms Survey reported that there are over one billion small arms distributed globally, of which 857 million (about 85 percent) are in civilian hands.

Many of those produced have been destroyed, deactivated or fallen into disrepair, but others will have been kept in working order and sold or passed on from one generation to another down the years. Others are civilian hunting and sporting weapons, which generally sell very well in countries such as the U.S. Many of the firearms on this list are military weapons which were used during both World Wars, so it is unsurprising that they were manufactured in such high numbers. Many more types have been made in the hundreds of thousands. This page lists more than 100 small arms designs which have been produced in numbers exceeding one million since the late 18th century.

Taurus Firearms Serial Numbers