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I agree. I too am working on my own stockpile. I've also been known to coerce my father into purchasing firearms and have a motive for doing so: I get his stockpile when he passes! hehe. I've tried the same tactics on my mother, but with no success. Right after the 9-11 incedent, I convinced my father to buy two new semi auto pistols and some reloading equipment. I figure to see a return on my efforts in about 2 decades or less. I know, that's terrible, but I can't help it.

Actually, I don't see the numbers as being that impressive. There are....what? 4 or 5 billion people on the planet?....maybe more? So the world manufactures 8 million per year and destroys 2 million per year....big deal! That's a net gain of 6 million per year.

At what rate does the world population increase each year? Is it more or less than 6 million persons per year?

You also have to consider the average useful lifespan of a firearm. It is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 years. Less for these modern lightweight polymer handguns. That means that even though the world is destroying only 2 million per year, there is a greater number of firearms becoming obsolete or too worn to use each year and we don't really know how many that is.

At this point, without doing any more searching, I would have to guess that the small arms(serviceable) per capita figure world wide is dropping like a rock.

You also have to consider the average useful lifespan of a firearm. It is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 years. Less for these modern lightweight polymer handguns.

Firearms will last forever unless one of three things happens:

They are used so much that they wear out.
They are exposed to damp or corrosive environments and rust.
Politicians get their greedy mitts on them.

While some firearms become permanently useless as a result of wear, many designs concentrate wear on replaceable (no paperwork required) parts and can thus be kept going for a long time even if heavily used.

While some firearms are certainly more durable than others, I don't think that polymer-framed firearms are any worse than metal-framed ones. I would expect that there are good and bad polymer-framed guns, just as there are good and bad metal-framed ones. To be sure, stainless steel is probably better than polymer, but polymer may be better than non-stainless steel (one may try to prevent rust, but in a cached firearm things can go wrong) and is probably better than aluminum or zinc alloy.

You also have to consider the average useful lifespan of a firearm

Lemmeesee, heah, fellah: the average AK-47 is a lifetime weapon. Stories are told about them coming back from Vietnam, staying in the closet for 30 years, rusting shut, and literally being KICKED open, oiled, and firing just fine, thank you, out hunting.

I have a (re-barreled) Mauser 98 which was originally an 8mm German Army Mountain Troops gun. Now as a .30-06, it shoots 1" at 100 yards.

You may have weapons which only last 40 years--but yours are the cheap ones. (I paid $50.00 for the Mauser.)