According to official data, almost 300,000 Bosnian citizens hold firearms licenses, and many more possess weapons that are not registered.

This number was given to media by Ivo Miro Jovic, a member of the state parliament's commission on security and defence.

Jovic said that 164,000 citizens of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina hold a license for some kind of firearm, while in Republika Srpska the number reaches 116,000.

Daily Nezavisne Novine reported that during the past year Republika Srpska, RS, issued 70 per cent more licences than in 2008.

The RS Ministry of Internal Affairs issued 1,386 licences last year.

Gojko Vasic from the Republika Srpska police told Nezavisne Novine that the increase in the purchase of weapons can be partly attributed to a rise in the number of armed bank robberies. The rise in armed burglaries has led more individuals to buy guns in order to protect themselves.

The same daily quotes several gun shop owners who said that they had not noticed increased interest in their goods.

According to the newspaper, a pistol can be bought in Banja Luka for between 200 and 500 euros, while prices for other firearms can cost over 1,500 euros. Ammunition for a pistol costs between 50 cents and one euro.

Data from the October 2009 Small Arms and Light Weapons Survey commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme for Bosnia showed that more than half a million Bosnian citizens own non-licensed weapons. The survey noted that no definitive figures on this statistic exist.