Gun ownership
In 2018, the Small Arms Survey reported that there are over one billion small arms distributed globally, of which 857 million (about 85 percent) are in civilian hands.[1][2] The survey stated that American civilians account for an estimated 393 million (about 46 percent) of the worldwide total of civilian held firearms,[2] or about 120.5 firearms for every 100 American residents.[2]
The world's
Global distribution of civilian-held firearms
The following data comes from the Small Arms Survey. For more tables see: Estimated number of civilian guns per capita by country and Percent of households with guns by country.
Countries and territories | Estimate of firearms in civilian possession | Population 2017 | Estimate of civilian firearms per 100 people |
---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | 4,270,000 | 34,169,000 | 12.5 |
Albania | 350,000 | 2,911,000 | 12.0 |
Algeria | 877,000 | 41,064,000 | 2.1 |
American Samoa (United States) | 400 | 56,000 | 0.7 |
Andorra | 10,000 | 69,000 | 14.1 |
Angola | 2,982,000 | 26,656,000 | 11.2 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 5,000 | 94,000 | 5.4 |
Argentina | 3,256,000 | 44,272,000 | 7.4 |
Armenia | 186,000 | 3,032,000 | 6.1 |
Aruba (Netherlands) | 3,000 | 105,000 | 2.6 |
Australia | 3,573,000 | 24,642,000 | 14.5 |
Austria | 2,577,000 | 8,592,000 | 30.0 |
Azerbaijan | 362,000 | 9,974,000 | 3.6 |
Bahamas | 74,000 | 397,000 | 18.8 |
Bahrain | 181,000 | 1,419,000 | 12.8 |
Bangladesh | 659,000 | 164,828,000 | 0.4 |
Barbados | 10,000 | 286,000 | 3.5 |
Belarus | 581,000 | 9,459,000 | 6.1 |
Belgium | 1,451,000 | 11,444,000 | 12.7 |
Belize | 37,000 | 375,000 | 10.0 |
Benin | 33,000 | 11,459,000 | 0.3 |
Bermuda (United Kingdom) | 3,000 | 61,000 | 4.6 |
Bhutan | 6,000 | 793,000 | 0.8 |
Bolivia | 218,000 | 11,053,000 | 2.0 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1,185,000 | 3,793,000 | 31.2 |
Botswana | 97,000 | 2,344,000 | 4.1 |
Brazil | 17,510,000 | 211,243,000 | 8.3 |
Brunei | 6,000 | 434,000 | 1.4 |
Bulgaria | 590,000 | 7,045,000 | 8.4 |
Burkina Faso | 175,000 | 19,173,000 | 0.9 |
Burundi | 238,000 | 11,936,000 | 2.0 |
Cambodia | 717,000 | 16,076,000 | 4.5 |
Cameroon | 510,000 | 24,514,000 | 2.1 |
Canada | 12,708,000 | 36,626,000 | 34.7 |
Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) | 31,000 | 533,000 | 5.7 |
Cayman Islands (United Kingdom) | 6,000 | 62,000 | 9.2 |
Central African Republic | 94,000 | 5,099,000 | 1.8 |
Chad | 151,000 | 14,965,000 | 1.0 |
Channel Islands | 23,000 | 165,000 | 14.0 |
Chile | 2,220,000 | 18,313,000 | 12.1 |
China | 49,735,000 | 1,388,233,000 | 3.6 |
Christmas Island | 0 | 2,000 | 0.0 |
Colombia | 4,971,000 | 49,068,000 | 10.1 |
Comoros | 12,000 | 826,000 | 1.5 |
Costa Rica | 493,000 | 4,906,000 | 10.0 |
Croatia | 576,000 | 4,210,000 | 13.7 |
Cuba | 234,000 | 11,390,000 | 2.1 |
Curaçao | 4,000 | 160,000 | 2.6 |
Cyprus | 285,000 | 839,000 | 34.0 |
Czech Republic | 1,323,000 | 10,555,000 | 12.5 |
Democratic Republic of Congo | 946,000 | 82,243,000 | 1.2 |
Denmark | 567,000 | 5,712,000 | 9.9 |
Djibouti | 28,000 | 911,000 | 3.1 |
Dominica | 5,000 | 73,000 | 6.2 |
Dominican Republic | 795,000 | 10,767,000 | 7.4 |
Ecuador | 402,000 | 16,626,000 | 2.4 |
Egypt | 3,931,000 | 95,215,000 | 4.1 |
El Salvador | 737,000 | 6,167,000 | 12.0 |
England and Wales | 2,731,000 | 58,877,000 | 4.6 |
Equatorial Guinea | 112,000 | 894,000 | 12.5 |
Eritrea | 23,000 | 5,482,000 | 0.4 |
Estonia | 65,000 | 1,306,000 | 5.0 |
Ethiopia | 377,000 | 104,345,000 | 0.4 |
Falkland Islands (United Kingdom) | 2,000 | 3,000 | 66.7 |
Faroe Islands (Denmark) | 5,000 | 49,000 | 9.9 |
Fiji | 5,000 | 903,000 | 0.5 |
Finland | 1,793,000 | 5,541,000 | 32.4 |
France | 12,732,000 | 64,939,000 | 19.6 |
French Guiana (France) | 55,000 | 283,000 | 19.6 |
French Polynesia (France) | 7,000 | 289,000 | 2.5 |
Gabon | 61,000 | 1,801,000 | 3.4 |
Gambia | 137,000 | 2,120,000 | 6.5 |
Georgia | 402,000 | 3,973,000 | 10.1 |
Germany | 15,822,000 | 80,636,000 | 19.6 |
Ghana | 2,280,000 | 28,657,000 | 8.0 |
Gibraltar (United Kingdom) | 1,000 | 32,000 | 4.1 |
Greece | 1,920,000 | 10,893,000 | 17.6 |
Greenland (Denmark) | 13,000 | 56,000 | 22.3 |
Grenada | 5,000 | 108,000 | 4.6 |
Guadeloupe (France) | 40,000 | 472,000 | 8.5 |
Guam (United States) | 20,000 | 174,000 | 11.5 |
Guatemala | 2,062,000 | 17,005,000 | 12.1 |
Guinea | 130,000 | 13,291,000 | 1.0 |
Guinea-Bissau | 29,000 | 1,933,000 | 1.5 |
Guyana | 122,000 | 774,000 | 15.8 |
Haiti | 291,000 | 10,983,000 | 2.6 |
Holy See | 0 | 1,000 | 0.0 |
Honduras | 1,171,000 | 8,305,000 | 14.1 |
Hong Kong (China) | 265,000 | 7,402,000 | 3.6 |
Hungary | 1,023,000 | 9,788,000 | 10.5 |
Iceland | 106,000 | 334,000 | 31.7 |
India | 71,101,000 | 1,342,513,000 | 5.3 |
Indonesia | 82,000 | 263,510,000 | 0.03 |
Iran | 5,890,000 | 80,946,000 | 7.3 |
Iraq | 7,588,000 | 38,654,000 | 19.6 |
Ireland | 342,000 | 4,749,000 | 7.2 |
Israel | 557,000 | 8,323,000 | 6.7 |
Italy | 8,609,000 | 59,798,000 | 14.4 |
Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) | 1,049,000 | 23,816,000 | 4.4 |
Jamaica | 246,000 | 2,813,000 | 8.8 |
Japan | 377,000 | 126,045,000 | 0.3 |
Jordan | 1,473,000 | 7,877,000 | 18.7 |
Kazakhstan | 504,000 | 18,064,000 | 2.8 |
Kenya | 750,000 | 48,467,000 | 1.5 |
Kiribati | 900 | 116,000 | 0.8 |
Kosovo | 436,000 | 1,831,000 | 23.8 |
Kuwait | 685,000 | 4,100,000 | 16.7 |
Kyrgyzstan | 171,000 | 6,125,000 | 2.8 |
Laos | 215,000 | 7,038,000 | 3.0 |
Latvia | 205,000 | 1,945,000 | 10.5 |
Lebanon | 1,927,000 | 6,039,000 | 31.9 |
Lesotho | 105,000 | 2,185,000 | 4.8 |
Liberia | 97,000 | 4,730,000 | 2.1 |
Libya | 851,000 | 6,409,000 | 13.3 |
Liechtenstein | 11,000 | 38,000 | 28.8 |
Lithuania | 385,000 | 2,831,000 | 13.6 |
Luxembourg | 110,000 | 584,000 | 18.9 |
Macao (China) | 22,000 | 606,000 | 3.6 |
Madagascar | 168,000 | 25,613,000 | 0.7 |
Malawi | 47,000 | 18,299,000 | 0.3 |
Malaysia | 217,000 | 31,164,000 | 0.7 |
Maldives | 23,000 | 376,000 | 6.2 |
Mali | 206,000 | 18,690,000 | 1.1 |
Malta | 119,000 | 421,000 | 28.3 |
Marshall Islands | 300 | 53,000 | 0.5 |
Martinique (France) | 34,000 | 396,000 | 8.5 |
Mauritania | 120,000 | 4,266,000 | 2.8 |
Mauritius | 106,000 | 1,281,000 | 8.3 |
Mexico | 16,809,000 | 130,223,000 | 12.9 |
Micronesia | 700 | 106,000 | 0.7 |
Moldova | 121,000 | 4,055,000 | 3.0 |
Monaco | 7,000 | 38,000 | 18.4 |
Mongolia | 242,000 | 3,052,000 | 7.9 |
Montenegro | 245,000 | 626,000 | 39.1 |
Montserrat (United Kingdom) | 300 | 5,000 | 5.4 |
Morocco | 1,690,000 | 35,241,000 | 4.8 |
Mozambique | 1,337,000 | 29,538,000 | 4.5 |
Myanmar | 877,000 | 54,836,000 | 1.6 |
Namibia | 396,000 | 2,569,000 | 15.4 |
Nauru | 0 | 10,000 | 0.0 |
Nepal | 444,000 | 29,187,000 | 1.5 |
Netherlands | 442,000 | 17,033,000 | 2.6 |
New Caledonia (France) | 115,000 | 270,000 | 42.5 |
New Zealand | 1,212,000 | 4,605,000 | 26.3 |
Nicaragua | 323,000 | 6,218,000 | 5.2 |
Niger | 117,000 | 21,564,000 | 0.5 |
Nigeria | 6,154,000 | 191,836,000 | 3.2 |
Northern Ireland | 206,000 | 1,873,000 | 11.0 |
Northern Mariana Islands (United States) | 1,000 | 56,000 | 2.6 |
North Korea | 76,000 | 25,405,000 | 0.3 |
Norway | 1,537,000 | 5,331,000 | 28.8 |
Oman | 792,000 | 4,741,000 | 16.7 |
Pakistan | 43,917,000 | 196,744,000 | 22.3 |
Palau | 100 | 22,000 | 0.5 |
Palestinian Territories | 56,000 | 4,952,000 | 1.1 |
Panama | 436,000 | 4,051,000 | 10.8 |
Papua New Guinea | 79,000 | 7,934,000 | 1.0 |
Paraguay | 1,140,000 | 6,812,000 | 16.7 |
Peru | 633,000 | 32,166,000 | 2.0 |
Philippines | 3,776,000 | 103,797,000 | 3.6 |
Poland | 968,000 | 38,564,000 | 2.5 |
Portugal | 2,186,000 | 10,265,000 | 21.3 |
Puerto Rico (United States) | 422,000 | 3,679,000 | 11.5 |
Puntland | 246,000 | 1,995,000 | 12.3 |
Qatar | 390,000 | 2,338,000 | 16.7 |
Republic of Congo | 119,000 | 4,866,000 | 2.4 |
Réunion (France) | 171,000 | 873,000 | 19.6 |
Romania | 506,000 | 19,238,000 | 2.6 |
Russian Federation | 17,620,000 | 143,375,000 | 12.3 |
Rwanda | 66,000 | 12,160,000 | 0.5 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 2,000 | 57,000 | 3.4 |
Saint Lucia | 6,000 | 188,000 | 3.4 |
Saint Martin (France) | 3,000 | 32,000 | 8.5 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 4,000 | 110,000 | 3.4 |
Samoa | 20,000 | 196,000 | 10.1 |
San Marino | 5,000 | 32,000 | 15.6 |
São Tomé and Principe | 7,000 | 198,000 | 3.4 |
Saudi Arabia | 12,564,000 | 32,743,000 | 53.7 |
Scotland | 305,000 | 5,436,000 | 5.6 |
Senegal | 323,000 | 16,054,000 | 2.0 |
Serbia | 2,719,000 | 6,946,000 | 39.1 |
Seychelles | 4,000 | 98,000 | 4.1 |
Sierra Leone | 35,000 | 6,733,000 | 0.5 |
Singapore | 20,000 | 5,785,000 | 0.3 |
Sint Maarten (Netherlands) | 2,000 | 40,000 | 4.2 |
Slovakia | 355,000 | 5,432,000 | 6.5 |
Slovenia | 324,000 | 2,071,000 | 15.6 |
Solomon Islands | 1,000 | 606,000 | 0.2 |
Somalia | 1,145,000 | 9,225,000 | 12.4 |
Somaliland | 456,000 | 3,823,000 | 11.9 |
South Africa | 5,351,000 | 55,436,000 | 9.7 |
South Korea | 79,000 | 50,705,000 | 0.2 |
South Sudan | 1,255,000 | 13,096,000 | 9.6 |
Spain | 3,464,000 | 46,070,000 | 7.5 |
Sri Lanka | 494,000 | 20,905,000 | 2.4 |
Sudan | 2,768,000 | 42,166,000 | 6.6 |
Suriname | 88,000 | 552,000 | 15.9 |
Swaziland | 64,000 | 1,320,000 | 4.8 |
Sweden | 2,296,000 | 9,921,000 | 23.1 |
Switzerland | 2,332,000 | 8,454,000 | 27.6 |
Syrian Arab Republic | 1,547,000 | 18,907,000 | 8.2 |
Taiwan | 10,000 | 23,405,000 | 0.04 |
Tajikistan | 37,000 | 8,858,000 | 0.4 |
Tanzania | 427,000 | 56,878,000 | 0.8 |
Thailand | 10,342,000 | 68,298,000 | 15.1 |
Timor-Leste (East Timor) | 3,000 | 1,237,000 | 0.3 |
Togo | 58,000 | 7,692,000 | 0.8 |
Tonga | 9,000 | 108,000 | 8.0 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 43,000 | 1,369,000 | 3.2 |
Tunisia | 123,000 | 11,495,000 | 1.1 |
Turkey | 13,249,000 | 80,418,000 | 16.5 |
Turkmenistan | 23,000 | 5,503,000 | 0.4 |
Turks and Caicos Islands (United Kingdom) | 1,000 | 35,000 | 3.3 |
Tuvalu | 100 | 10,000 | 1.2 |
Uganda | 331,000 | 41,653,000 | 0.8 |
Ukraine | 4,396,000 | 44,405,000 | 9.9 |
United Arab Emirates | 1,569,000 | 9,398,000 | 16.7 |
United States | 393,347,000 | 326,474,000 | 120.5 |
Uruguay | 1,198,000 | 3,457,000 | 34.7 |
Uzbekistan | 127,000 | 30,691,000 | 0.4 |
Vanuatu | 11,000 | 276,000 | 3.9 |
Venezuela | 5,895,000 | 31,926,000 | 18.5 |
Vietnam | 1,562,000 | 95,415,000 | 1.6 |
Virgin Islands (United Kingdom) | 300 | 31,000 | 0.8 |
Virgin Islands (United States) | 18,000 | 107,000 | 16.6 |
Yemen | 14,859,000 | 28,120,000 | 52.8 |
Zambia | 158,000 | 17,238,000 | 0.9 |
Zimbabwe | 455,000 | 16,338,000 | 2.8 |
Association with rates of violence in times of peace
Some studies suggest that higher rates of gun ownership are associated with higher homicide rates,[9][10][11] although Gary Kleck argues that the highest-quality studies show that gun ownership does not increase homicide rates.[12] Higher rates of gun ownership are also associated with higher suicide rates[13][14] and higher accidental gun death rates.[15][16][17] The availability of illegal guns, but not that of legal guns, is associated with higher rates of violent crime.[18]
An international study by
Maps
Gallery
See also
- Gun control
- Gun violence
- Gun culture in the United States
- Right to keep and bear arms in the United States
- Gun politics in the United States
- Index of gun politics articles
- Gun violence in the United States by state
- Percent of households with guns by country
- Number of guns per capita by country
References
- ^ a b c smallarmssurvey.org Small Arms Survey reveals: More than one billion firearms in the world
- ^ a b c smallarmssurvey.org Estimating Global CivilianHELD Firearms Numbers. Aaron Karp. June 2018
- ^ Haroun, Brennan Weiss, James Pasley, Azmi. "Only 3 countries in the world protect the right to bear arms in their constitutions: the US, Mexico, and Guatemala". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ smallarmssurvey.org June 2018, Estimating Global Civilian Held Firearms Numbers by Aaron Karp
- ^ Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017. smallarmssurvey.org. Archived on 29 June 2018.
- ^ Fox, Kara; Shveda, Krystina; Croker, Natalie; Chacon, Marco (November 26, 2021). "How US gun culture stacks up with the world". CNN. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021.
CNN's attribution: Developed countries are defined based on the UN classification, which includes 36 countries. Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (Global Burden of Disease 2019), Small Arms Survey (Civilian Firearm Holdings 2017)
- ^ Mortality data from "Firearm Mortality by State". cdc.gov. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. 2022. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023.
The number of deaths per 100,000 total population. Source: wonder.cdc.gov
● Household firearm ownership data from Schell, Terry L.; Peterson, Samuel; Vegetabile, Brian G.; Scherling, Adam; Smart, Rosanna; Morral, Andrew R. (April 22, 2020). "State-Level Estimates of Household Firearm Ownership". rand.org. RAND Corporation. p. 21. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Fig. 2. PDF file (download link) - ^ ● Gun sale data from Brownlee, Chip (December 31, 2023). "Gun Violence by the Numbers in 2023". The Trace. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024.
● NICS firearm check data downloaded via link at "NICS Firearm Background Checks: Month/Year" (PDF). FBI.gov. Federal Bureau of Investigation. January 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 29, 2024. - PMID 12453821.
- S2CID 143203446.
- PMID 17070975.
- .
- S2CID 4756779.
- .
- PMID 11834986.
- PMID 11937613.
- PMID 11426678.
- .
- ^ https://pure.uvt.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/5263789/GunsKilliasvKesteren.pdf[bare URL PDF]
- ^ Hemenway, David (June 2009). "Don B. Kates and Gary Mauser. "Would Banning Firearms Reduce Murder and Suicide? A Review of International and Some Domestic Evidence" Harvard Journal of Law and Policy" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-10-11.
- S2CID 145245290.
- ^ "Firearms, Accidental Deaths, Suicides and Violent Crime: An Updated Review of the Literature with Special Reference to the Canadian Situation". 10 March 1999.
- S2CID 42273865.
- S2CID 9805679.
Further reading
This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. (March 2024) |
- Krouse, William J. (14 November 2012). Gun Control Legislation (PDF). Congressional Research Service.
- The Washington Post article (June 2018) [1]
- Time article (June 2018) [2]
- The New York Times (June 2018) [3]
- The Guardian article (June 2018) [4]
- Newsweek article (June 2018) [5]
- The Star Tribune article (June 2018) [6] Archived 2018-06-30 at the Wayback Machine
- The Associated Press article (June 2018) [7]
- Reuters article (June 2018) [8]
- New York Daily News article (June 2018) [9]