In the regular annual publication “Trade Update 2016, Transfers and Transparency”, dealing with trade in small and light weapons, Serbia takes the fourth position on the world list for 2016 for transparency in exporting small and light weapons.

By this ranking our country is placed behind Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and in front of Switzerland, Romania, Belgium, Sweden, France, Norway, USA, Italy, Finland and other countries (as for the countries in the region, Croatia takes the 18th position, while Bosnia and Herzegovina the 44th).

The criteria based on which this list was made are regularity and accuracy in reporting to international institutions and organisations (UN Register of conventional and Register of small and light weapons, regional reports), accuracy and consistency in reporting, clarity and comprehensiveness, coverage of information published regarding the realised deliveries, approved licenses and received requests for license issuance.

Regular annual publications on weapons and market, armed violence, national legislation and transparency and safety programmes are published by Small Arms Survey founded in 1999.
The organisation was founded by the Swiss Confederate Government with the participation of the Government of Germany, Great Britain, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, with the aim to point out the issues on trade in small and light weapons at the global level, such as production, supplies, mediation, legal and illegal trade, and inspection of national, bilateral and multilateral measures taken in terms of current issues in trade in small and light weapons.

All the research is done through joint projects with independent researchers and research organisations and international organisations, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations.
Small Arms Survey is the most credible organisation today which in assesses the situation in this field in the Institute for International and Developmental Studies in Geneva.