them. The rate of firearm licences approved (i.e. numbers of licences granted relative to the size of the population) varies significantly for each province, with the highest rate in Gauteng and the lowest in the Northern Province.

In 1998, the firearms recovered by the South African Police Service consisted primarily of pistols (55.7%) and revolvers (15.9%), followed by rifles (10.1%) and shotguns (3.6%). Military assault weapons, such as the AK-47, accounted for a small percentage of the total firearms recovered in 1998 (2.5%, down from 10.7% in 1994). Homemade firearms accounted for 14.8%. Once again there were significant provincial variations, with most of the weapons (45%) seized in KwaZulu Natal, followed by Gauteng (40%).

The extent and shape of the illegal supply of firearms in South Africa is not known conclusively. The illegal supply of firearms in South Africa is fuelled by losses and thefts of legally owned firearms both from individuals and the state. The quantities of firearms being reported lost or stolen each year have been on the increase. In addition, there has been a dramatic increase in robberies of firearms (where the owner of a firearm is forcefully deprived of his or her firearm). A portion of these lost and stolen firearms come from State sources.

In addition, the illegal supply of firearms is fuelled by weapons imported illegally or imported legally and then diverted into illegal markets, as well as from caches built up during the liberation struggle.

Firearms are one of the leading causes of non-natural death in South Africa and studies by medical practitioners show a dramatic increase in the numbers of firearm injuries being treated in South African emergency rooms. In a study involving 10 mortuaries, deaths from firearms often equaled deaths from road accidents. The demographic profiles of the victims and their activities at the time of being murdered are examined in this publication. The rates of firearm death vary by location. The greatest proportion of deaths involving firearms occurs in KwaZulu-Natal, where they exceed the proportion of deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents. In the vast majority of firearm deaths examined, the deaths occurred as homicides (87%). 11% of unnatural deaths were suicides (in which firearms were used in just over one third of incidents). Young males are particularly at risk of being killed with firearms. Different age and race groups are affected in different ways by firearms, e.g. for whites the greatest risk appears to be suicide committed with a firearm. The cost of firearm injuries and deaths is staggering in terms of direct health costs and lost productivity resulting from premature disability and death. In addition, they divert health care resources and overload scarce hospital facilities.

A HSRC survey revealed that in South Africa, where people have been involved in incidents in which firearms were used in a threatening manner, it usually involved their victimisation rather than their use of the firearm to defend themselves or their families. Also, the number of people in the survey who felt that firearms place them at risk exceeded the number who felt that firearms enhance their safety. 93% of people interviewed had never owned a firearm.

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