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Gun ownership

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Image
A gun store in Wenatchee, Washington, United States

Gun ownership is the ownership of a gun or firearm.

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A gun store in Prague, Czech Republic

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 USA 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]

From 1994 to 2023, gun ownership increased 28% in America. In 2023, about 16.7 million firearms were sold in the U.S. In the first four months of 2024, nearly 5.5 million firearms were sold, averaging around 1.3 million per month. About 72% of American gun owners say they own a gun primarily for protection.[3]

Gun ownership is a legal right in many nations. In the overwhelming majority of countries, this right is heavily restricted. A marginal set of countries, including the United States, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic, have a more liberal approach. These countries have explicit constitutional or statutory frameworks that affirm civilian access to firearms for self-defense, sport, and militia purposes.[4]

The world's armed forces control about 133 million (approximately 13 percent) of the global total of small arms, of which over 43 percent belong to two countries: Russia (30.3 million) and China (27.5 million).[1] Law enforcement agencies control about 23 million (about 2 percent) of the global total of small arms.[1] Gun ownership is a protected right in countries such as the United States and Yemen.[5]

Global distribution of civilian-held firearms

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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.

Worldwide civilian firearms holdings, 2017 estimates.[6][7]
Countries and territories Firearms in civilian possession Population 2017 Civilian firearms per 100 people
Image Afghanistan4,270,00034,169,00012.5
Image Albania350,0002,911,00012.0
Image Algeria877,00041,064,0002.1
Image American Samoa (United States)40056,0000.7
Image Andorra10,00069,00014.1
Image Angola2,982,00026,656,00011.2
Image Antigua and Barbuda5,00094,0005.3
Image Argentina3,256,00044,272,0007.4
Image Armenia186,0003,032,0006.1
Image Aruba (Netherlands)3,000105,0002.6
Image Australia3,573,00024,642,00014.5
Image Austria2,577,0008,592,00030.0
Image Azerbaijan362,0009,974,0003.6
Image Bahamas74,000397,00018.8
Image Bahrain181,0001,419,00012.8
Image Bangladesh659,000164,828,0000.4
Image Barbados10,000286,0003.5
Image Belarus581,0009,459,0006.1
Image Belgium1,451,00011,444,00012.7
Image Belize37,000375,00010.0
Image Benin33,00011,459,0000.3
Image Bermuda (United Kingdom)3,00061,0004.6
Image Bhutan6,000793,0000.8
Image Bolivia218,00011,053,0002.0
Image Bosnia and Herzegovina1,185,0003,793,00031.2
Image Botswana97,0002,344,0004.1
Image Brazil17,510,000211,243,0008.3
Image Brunei6,000434,0001.4
Image Bulgaria590,0007,045,0008.4
Image Burkina Faso175,00019,173,0000.9
Image Burundi238,00011,936,0002.0
Image Cambodia717,00016,076,0004.5
Image Cameroon510,00024,514,0002.1
Image Canada12,708,00036,626,00034.7
Image Cape Verde (Cabo Verde)31,000533,0005.7
Image Cayman Islands (United Kingdom)6,00062,0009.2
Image Central African Republic94,0005,099,0001.8
Image Chad151,00014,965,0001.0
Image Channel Islands23,000165,00014.0
Image Chile2,220,00018,313,00012.1
Image China49,735,0001,388,233,0003.6
Image Christmas Island02,0000.0
Image Colombia4,971,00049,068,00010.1
Image Comoros12,000826,0001.5
Image Costa Rica493,0004,906,00010.0
Image Croatia576,0004,210,00013.7
Image Cuba234,00011,390,0002.1
Image Curaçao4,000160,0002.6
Image Cyprus285,000839,00034.0
Image Czech Republic1,323,00010,555,00012.5
Image DR Congo946,00082,243,0001.2
Image Denmark567,0005,712,0009.9
Image Djibouti28,000911,0003.1
Image Dominica5,00073,0006.2
Image Dominican Republic795,00010,767,0007.4
Image Ecuador402,00016,626,0002.4
Image Egypt3,931,00095,215,0004.1
Image El Salvador737,0006,167,00012.0
Image England and Wales2,731,00058,877,0004.6
Image Equatorial Guinea112,000894,00012.5
Image Eritrea23,0005,482,0000.4
Image Estonia65,0001,306,0005.0
Image Ethiopia377,000104,345,0000.4
Image Falkland Islands (United Kingdom)2,0003,00066.7
Image Faroe Islands (Denmark)5,00049,0009.9
Image Fiji5,000903,0000.5
Image Finland1,793,0005,541,00032.4
Image France12,732,00064,939,00019.6
Image French Guiana (France)55,000283,00019.6
Image French Polynesia (France)7,000289,0002.5
Image Gabon61,0001,801,0003.4
Image Gambia137,0002,120,0006.5
Image Georgia402,0003,973,00010.1
Image Germany15,822,00080,636,00019.6
Image Ghana2,280,00028,657,0008.0
Image Gibraltar (United Kingdom)1,00032,0004.1
Image Greece1,920,00010,893,00017.6
Image Greenland (Denmark)13,00056,00022.3
Image Grenada5,000108,0004.6
Image Guadeloupe (France)40,000472,0008.5
Image Guam (United States)20,000174,00011.5
Image Guatemala2,062,00017,005,00012.1
Image Guinea130,00013,291,0001.0
Image Guinea-Bissau29,0001,933,0001.5
Image Guyana122,000774,00015.8
Image Haiti291,00010,983,0002.6
Image Holy See01,0000.0
Image Honduras1,171,0008,305,00014.1
Image Hong Kong (China)265,0007,402,0003.6
Image Hungary1,023,0009,788,00010.5
Image Iceland106,000334,00031.7
Image India71,101,0001,342,513,0005.3
Image Indonesia82,000263,510,0000.03
Image Iran5,890,00080,946,0007.3
Image Iraq7,588,00038,654,00019.6
Image Ireland342,0004,749,0007.2
Image Israel557,0008,323,0006.7
Image Italy8,609,00059,798,00014.4
Image Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)1,049,00023,816,0004.4
Image Jamaica246,0002,813,0008.8
Image Japan377,000126,045,0000.3
Image Jordan1,473,0007,877,00018.7
Image Kazakhstan504,00018,064,0002.8
Image Kenya750,00048,467,0001.5
Image Kiribati900116,0000.8
Image Kosovo436,0001,831,00023.8
Image Kuwait685,0004,100,00016.7
Image Kyrgyzstan171,0006,125,0002.8
Image Laos215,0007,038,0003.0
Image Latvia205,0001,945,00010.5
Image Lebanon1,927,0006,039,00031.9
Image Lesotho105,0002,185,0004.8
Image Liberia97,0004,730,0002.1
Image Libya851,0006,409,00013.3
Image Liechtenstein11,00038,00028.8
Image Lithuania385,0002,831,00013.6
Image Luxembourg110,000584,00018.9
Image Macau (China)22,000606,0003.6
Image Madagascar168,00025,613,0000.7
Image Malawi47,00018,299,0000.3
Image Malaysia217,00031,164,0000.7
Image Maldives23,000376,0006.2
Image Mali206,00018,690,0001.1
Image Malta119,000421,00028.3
Image Marshall Islands30053,0000.5
Image Martinique (France)34,000396,0008.5
Image Mauritania120,0004,266,0002.8
Image Mauritius106,0001,281,0008.3
Image Mexico16,809,000130,223,00012.9
Image Federated States of Micronesia700106,0000.7
Image Moldova121,0004,055,0003.0
Image Monaco7,00038,00018.4
Image Mongolia242,0003,052,0007.9
Image Montenegro245,000626,00039.1
Image Montserrat (United Kingdom)3005,0005.4
Image Morocco1,690,00035,241,0004.8
Image Mozambique1,337,00029,538,0004.5
Image Myanmar877,00054,836,0001.6
Image Namibia396,0002,569,00015.4
Image Nauru010,0000.0
Image   Nepal444,00029,187,0001.5
Image Netherlands442,00017,033,0002.6
Image New Caledonia (France)115,000270,00042.5
Image New Zealand1,212,0004,605,00026.3
Image Nicaragua323,0006,218,0005.2
Image Niger117,00021,564,0000.5
Image Nigeria6,154,000191,836,0003.2
Image Northern Ireland206,0001,873,00011.0
Image Northern Mariana Islands (United States)1,00056,0002.6
Image North Korea76,00025,405,0000.3
Image Norway1,537,0005,331,00028.8
Image Oman792,0004,741,00016.7
Image Pakistan43,917,000196,744,00022.3
Image Palau10022,0000.5
Image Palestine56,0004,952,0001.1
Image Panama436,0004,051,00010.8
Image Papua New Guinea79,0007,934,0001.0
Image Paraguay1,140,0006,812,00016.7
Image Peru633,00032,166,0002.0
Image Philippines3,776,000103,797,0003.6
Image Poland968,00038,564,0002.5
Image Portugal2,186,00010,265,00021.3
Image Puerto Rico (United States)422,0003,679,00011.5
Image Puntland246,0001,995,00012.3
Image Qatar390,0002,338,00016.7
Image Congo119,0004,866,0002.4
Image Réunion (France)171,000873,00019.6
Image Romania506,00019,238,0002.6
Image Russia17,620,000143,375,00012.3
Image Rwanda66,00012,160,0000.5
Image Saint Kitts and Nevis2,00057,0003.4
Image Saint Lucia6,000188,0003.4
Image Saint Martin (France)3,00032,0008.5
Image Saint Vincent and the Grenadines4,000110,0003.4
Image Samoa20,000196,00010.1
Image San Marino5,00032,00015.6
Image São Tomé and Príncipe7,000198,0003.4
Image Saudi Arabia12,564,00032,743,00053.7
Image Scotland305,0005,436,0005.6
Image Senegal323,00016,054,0002.0
Image Serbia2,719,0006,946,00039.1
Image Seychelles4,00098,0004.1
Image Sierra Leone35,0006,733,0000.5
Image Singapore20,0005,785,0000.3
Image Sint Maarten (Netherlands)2,00040,0004.2
Image Slovakia355,0005,432,0006.5
Image Slovenia324,0002,071,00015.6
Image Solomon Islands1,000606,0000.2
Image Somalia1,145,0009,225,00012.4
Image Somaliland456,0003,823,00011.9
Image South Africa5,351,00055,436,0009.7
Image South Korea79,00050,705,0000.2
Image South Sudan1,255,00013,096,0009.6
Image Spain3,464,00046,070,0007.5
Image Sri Lanka494,00020,905,0002.4
Image Sudan2,768,00042,166,0006.6
Image Suriname88,000552,00015.9
Image Swaziland64,0001,320,0004.8
Image Sweden2,296,0009,921,00023.1
Image  Switzerland2,332,0008,454,00027.6
Image Syria1,547,00018,907,0008.2
Image Taiwan10,00023,405,0000.04
Image Tajikistan37,0008,858,0000.4
Image Tanzania427,00056,878,0000.8
Image Thailand10,342,00068,298,00015.1
Image Timor-Leste3,0001,237,0000.3
Image Togo58,0007,692,0000.8
Image Tonga9,000108,0008.0
Image Trinidad and Tobago43,0001,369,0003.2
Image Tunisia123,00011,495,0001.1
Image Turkey13,249,00080,418,00016.5
Image Turkmenistan23,0005,503,0000.4
Image Turks and Caicos Islands (United Kingdom)1,00035,0003.3
Image Tuvalu10010,0001.2
Image Uganda331,00041,653,0000.8
Image Ukraine4,396,00044,405,0009.9
Image United Arab Emirates1,569,0009,398,00016.7
Image United States393,347,000326,474,000120.5
Image Uruguay1,198,0003,457,00034.7
Image Uzbekistan127,00030,691,0000.4
Image Vanuatu11,000276,0003.9
Image Venezuela5,895,00031,926,00018.5
Image Vietnam1,562,00095,415,0001.6
Image British Virgin Islands30031,0000.8
Image U.S. Virgin Islands18,000107,00016.6
Image Yemen14,859,00028,120,00052.8
Image Zambia158,00017,238,0000.9
Image Zimbabwe455,00016,338,0002.8

Association with rates of violence in times of peace

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Multiple studies show that where people have easy access to firearms, gun-related deaths tend to be more frequent, including by suicide, homicide and unintentional injuries.[8]
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Gun-related death rates are positively correlated with household gun ownership rates.[9]
Image
U.S. gun sales have risen steadily in the 21st century, peaking in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] "NICS" is the FBI's National Instant Background Check System.[better source needed]
Image
Annual gun production in the U.S. has increased substantially in the 21st century, after having remained fairly level over preceding decades.[11] By 2023, a majority of U.S. states allowed adults to carry concealed guns in public.[11]

American studies suggest that higher rates of gun ownership are associated with higher homicide rates,[12][13][14] although Gary Kleck argues that the highest-quality studies show that gun ownership does not increase homicide rates.[15] Higher rates of gun ownership are also associated with higher suicide rates[16][17] and higher accidental gun death rates.[18][19][20] The availability of illegal guns, but not that of legal guns, is associated with higher rates of violent crime.[21]

An international study by UNICRI researchers from 2001 examined the link between household gun ownership and overall homicide, overall suicide, as well as gun homicide and gun suicide rates amongst 21 countries. Significant correlations between household gun ownership and rates of gun suicides for both genders, and gun homicide rates involving female victims were found. There were no significant correlations detected for total homicide and suicide rates, as well as gun homicide rates involving male victims, gun homicides when including both genders, or overall female homicide rates.[22] This study has been criticized for combining high-income countries (like the United States) with middle-income countries (like Estonia); if middle-income countries are excluded from the analysis, a strong relationship emerges between gun ownership and homicide.[23] However the Hemenway study has been criticized in response as well. When removing the United States as an outlier and using the superior proxy of gun ownership in the study (percentage of firearm suicides over all suicides), the relationship ceases to be significant. The association between gun ownership and homicide rates across highly developed nations is dependent on the inclusion of the U.S.[24] Studies in Canada that examined the levels of gun ownership by province have found no correlations with provincial overall suicide rates.[25] A 2011 study conducted looking at the effects of gun control legislation passed in Canada and the associated effects in homicide rates found no significant reductions in homicide rates as a result of legislation.[26] A case-control study conducted in New Zealand looking at household gun ownership and the risk of suicides found no significant associations.[27]

Maps

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Map of countries by estimated civilian firearms per capita[as of?]
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Percent of households with guns in 2016. RAND Corporation.[28][29]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 smallarmssurvey.org Small Arms Survey reveals: More than one billion firearms in the world
  2. 1 2 3 smallarmssurvey.org Estimating Global CivilianHELD Firearms Numbers. Aaron Karp. June 2018
  3. ↑ "How Many Gun Owners Are In America? 2023 - 2024 Statistics".
  4. ↑ Levush, Ruth (2022-06-10). "Law Library of Congress Studies on Firearms, Weapons, and Gun Control | In Custodia Legis". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2026-02-26.
  5. ↑ 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)
  6. ↑ smallarmssurvey.org June 2018, Estimating Global Civilian Held Firearms Numbers by Aaron Karp
  7. ↑ Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017. smallarmssurvey.org. Archived on 29 June 2018.
  8. ↑ 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)
  9. ↑ ● 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. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. (Click on "Download the Database", extract the xlsx file, and choose the tab at the bottom of the xlsx file to see the long data listing, select data for particular year from the HFR column.)
  10. ↑ ● Gun sales data: "Dataset / Firearm Sales". The Trace. 12 May 2026. Archived from the original on 20 May 2026. Monthly firearm sales in the U.S., estimated by The Trace using data derived from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (freely downloadable data in .csv format)
    ● NICS background checks data: "NICSFirearmBackgroundChecks:" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 2026. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2026.
  11. 1 2 Mascia, Jennifer; Brownlee, Chip (April 9, 2024). "The Armed Era". The Trace. Archived from the original on April 14, 2024.
  12. ↑ Miller, Matthew; Azrael, Deborah; Hemenway, David (December 2002). "Rates of Household Firearm Ownership and Homicide Across US Regions and States, 1988–1997". American Journal of Public Health. 92 (12): 1988–1993. doi:10.2105/AJPH.92.12.1988. PMC 1447364. PMID 12453821.
  13. ↑ Hoskin, Anthony W. (September 2001). "Armed Americans: The impact of firearm availability on national homicide rates". Justice Quarterly. 18 (3): 569–592. doi:10.1080/07418820100095021. S2CID 143203446.
  14. ↑ Miller, Matthew; Hemenway, David; Azrael, Deborah (February 2007). "State-level homicide victimization rates in the US in relation to survey measures of household firearm ownership, 2001–2003". Social Science & Medicine. 64 (3): 656–664. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.09.024. PMID 17070975.
  15. ↑ Kleck, Gary (January 2015). "The Impact of Gun Ownership Rates on Crime Rates: A Methodological Review of the Evidence". Journal of Criminal Justice. 43 (1): 40–48. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2014.12.002.
  16. ↑ Anestis, MD; Houtsma, C (13 March 2017). "The Association Between Gun Ownership and Statewide Overall Suicide Rates". Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. 48 (2): 204–217. doi:10.1111/sltb.12346. PMID 28294383. S2CID 4756779.
  17. ↑ Westefeld, John S.; Gann, Lianne C.; Lustgarten, Samuel D.; Yeates, Kevin J. (2016). "Relationships between firearm availability and suicide: The role of psychology". Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. 47 (4): 271–277. doi:10.1037/pro0000089.
  18. ↑ Miller, M; Azrael, D; Hemenway, D (February 2002). "Firearm availability and unintentional firearm deaths, suicide, and homicide among 5-14 year olds". The Journal of Trauma. 52 (2): 267–74, discussion 274–5. doi:10.1097/00005373-200202000-00011. PMID 11834986.
  19. ↑ Miller, M. (1 March 2002). "Firearm Availability and Suicide, Homicide, and Unintentional Firearm Deaths Among Women". Journal of Urban Health. 79 (1): 26–38. doi:10.1093/jurban/79.1.26. PMC 3456383. PMID 11937613.
  20. ↑ Miller, Mathew; Azrael, Deborah; Hemenway, David (July 2001). "Firearm availability and unintentional firearm deaths". Accident Analysis & Prevention. 33 (4): 477–484. doi:10.1016/S0001-4575(00)00061-0. PMID 11426678.
  21. ↑ Stolzenberg, L.; D'Alessio, S. J. (1 June 2000). "Gun Availability and Violent Crime: New Evidence from the National Incident-Based Reporting System". Social Forces. 78 (4): 1461–1482. doi:10.1093/sf/78.4.1461.
  22. ↑ "Guns, violent crime, and suicide in 21 countries" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-09-18.
  23. ↑ 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.
  24. ↑ Kleck, Gary (2004). "Measures of Gun Ownership Levels for Macro-Level Crime and Violence Research". Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. 41: 3–36. doi:10.1177/0022427803256229. S2CID 145245290.
  25. ↑ "Firearms, Accidental Deaths, Suicides and Violent Crime: An Updated Review of the Literature with Special Reference to the Canadian Situation". 10 March 1999.
  26. ↑ Langmann, Caillin (2012). "Canadian Firearms Legislation and Effects on Homicide 1974 to 2008". Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 27 (12): 2303–2321. doi:10.1177/0886260511433515. PMID 22328660. S2CID 42273865.
  27. ↑ Beautrais, Annette L.; Joyce, Peter R.; Mulder, Roger T. (1996). "Access to Firearms and the Risk of Suicide: A Case Control Study". Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 30 (6): 741–748. doi:10.3109/00048679609065040. PMID 9034462. S2CID 9805679.
  28. ↑ 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 Corporation. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Click on "Download the Database", extract the xlsx file, and choose the data tab at the bottom. Select state data for particular year from the HFR column. There is 2016 data for all states. Sort the year column.
  29. ↑ "Gun Ownership in America". RAND Corporation. See 1980-2016 timeline graph: "This figure displays three-year rolling averages for household gun ownership rates in each state and the nation overall." Hover over state lines for year and percent. There is also a form to select state lines to show. Add one at a time.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Krouse, William J. (14 November 2012). Gun Control Legislation (PDF). Congressional Research Service.
  • The Washington Post article (June 2018)
  • Time article (June 2018)
  • The New York Times (June 2018)
  • The Guardian article (June 2018)
  • Newsweek article (June 2018)
  • The Star Tribune article (June 2018) Archived 2018-06-30 at the Wayback Machine
  • The Associated Press article (June 2018)
  • Reuters article (June 2018)
  • New York Daily News article (June 2018)
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