 |
|
A total of 95 722 firearms are licenced to some 11 989 institutions (e.g. companies and security firms), which is an average of 8 per company. There are 644 registered firearm dealers in South Africa, which had a total of 397 146 firearms registered to them in July 1999. 741 persons between the ages of 16 and 19 are licenced to possess handguns, requested for sporting purposes.
An average of 192 283 new licences per year have been granted for the years 1994 to 1998 as the table below illustrates:
| Table 16: Firearm Licences Issued in SA January l994 to September 1999 |
|
| YEAR | NO. OF LICENCES ISSUED |
| 1994 | 236 033 |
| 1995 | 150 928 |
| 1996 | 195 613 |
| 1997 | 195 389 |
| 1998 | 183 455 |
| Jan. - Sept. 1999 | 142 670 |
| Source: SAPS Central Firearm Registry | |
In the country as a whole, licence applications peaked around the 1994 election, dropped sharply and then began to stabilise. Consequently, the number of licences presently being granted nationally is also stabilising.
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