Every single day, the world loses over a thousand lives to the crack of a gunshot, a relentless global epidemic where firearms were responsible for one in every two homicides in recent years.
Key Takeaways
- In 2019, an estimated 251,000 people died worldwide from firearm-related injuries, representing about 44% of all homicides globally
- Globally, firearms were responsible for 54% of all homicides in 2017, totaling approximately 228,000 gun homicide deaths
- Between 2016 and 2020, the global average annual gun homicide rate was 6.1 per 100,000 people, affecting 397,000 victims yearly
- In Brazil, the gun homicide rate was 21.8 per 100,000 in 2021, with 47,507 deaths
- Venezuela's firearm homicide rate peaked at 49.1 per 100,000 in 2019, totaling 8,643 deaths
- El Salvador reported 18.2 gun homicides per 100,000 in 2022, down from 52 in 2018 post-gang truce
- Globally, civilian firearms number over 1 billion, with 857 million in civilian hands as of 2018 estimates
- United States civilians hold 393 million firearms, 46% of world total, 120.5 per 100 residents in 2018
- Yemen has the highest civilian gun ownership at 52.8 per 100 people, 29 million firearms
- Globally, non-fatal gun injuries total 3-5 times homicides, estimated 1 million annually in 2019
- US sees 80,000 non-fatal gun injuries yearly, but global LMICs underreport 10x more
- In Brazil, 50,000 non-fatal gun wounds treated in 2021, costing $1.2 billion healthcare
- In 1990, global gun homicides were 160,000, rising to 250,000 by 2015 before slight decline
- US gun death rate fell 10% from 1993-2019 but homicide component stable at 4-5 per 100k
- Brazil gun deaths dropped 20% post-2019 ban reversal, from 47k to 38k by 2022
Gun violence is a global crisis, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives every single year.
Country-Specific Gun Death Rates
- In Brazil, the gun homicide rate was 21.8 per 100,000 in 2021, with 47,507 deaths
- Venezuela's firearm homicide rate peaked at 49.1 per 100,000 in 2019, totaling 8,643 deaths
- El Salvador reported 18.2 gun homicides per 100,000 in 2022, down from 52 in 2018 post-gang truce
- South Africa's gun death rate stood at 11.2 per 100,000 in 2020, with 20,386 total homicides mostly firearms
- Mexico had 29,300 gun homicides in 2021, a rate of 23 per 100,000 amid cartel wars
- Colombia's firearm homicide rate was 24.5 per 100,000 in 2019, with 12,086 deaths
- Honduras recorded 38.9 gun homicides per 100,000 in 2020, 3,496 total gun deaths
- Guatemala's rate hit 17.3 per 100,000 in 2021, driven by narco-transit violence
- Jamaica saw 47 gun homicides per 100,000 in 2022, highest in Caribbean
- Philippines gun death rate was 6.1 per 100,000 in 2019, with 4,800 homicides
- United States had 14.7 gun homicides per 100,000 in 2021, totaling 48,830 deaths
- Canada reported 0.5 gun homicides per 100,000 in 2021, 277 deaths
- Australia's rate dropped to 0.1 per 100,000 post-1996 reforms, 30 deaths in 2021
- UK's gun homicide rate was 0.04 per 100,000 in 2021/22, 27 deaths
- Japan's firearm death rate is 0.02 per 100,000, with 1 homicide in 2020
- Russia's gun homicide rate estimated at 3.2 per 100,000 in 2019, 4,500 deaths
- India's rate around 0.3 per 100,000, but 15,000 total gun deaths including suicides
- Nigeria's gun violence caused 5,000 homicides in 2022, rate approx 2.5 per 100,000
- Pakistan reported 3,000 gun homicides in 2021, rate 1.4 per 100,000
- Thailand's rate 3.7 per 100,000 in 2019, 2,500 deaths from feuds
Country-Specific Gun Death Rates Interpretation
From Brazil's urban battlegrounds to Japan's near absence of gunfire, these statistics paint a grim global portrait where the price of weak governance, organized crime, and accessible firearms is measured in a brutally simple metric: bodies per 100,000.
Global Fatalities
- In 2019, an estimated 251,000 people died worldwide from firearm-related injuries, representing about 44% of all homicides globally
- Globally, firearms were responsible for 54% of all homicides in 2017, totaling approximately 228,000 gun homicide deaths
- Between 2016 and 2020, the global average annual gun homicide rate was 6.1 per 100,000 people, affecting 397,000 victims yearly
- In 2021, firearms accounted for over 45% of intentional homicides worldwide, with Latin America seeing the highest share at 75%
- WHO estimates 464,000 deaths from self-inflicted, interpersonal, or forces-related gun violence annually as of 2019 data
- Firearm homicides peaked globally at 250,000 in 2015, stabilizing around 240,000 by 2019 per IHME data
- In low- and middle-income countries, 90% of the 250,000 annual gun homicides occur, disproportionately affecting males aged 15-44
- Global gun suicide deaths numbered 123,000 in 2016, comprising 53% of all suicides where method was known
- Armed conflict-related gun deaths totaled 85,000 globally in 2020, a 15% rise from 2019 due to regional escalations
- Firearms caused 2.4 million years of life lost (YLLs) globally in 2019 from homicides alone
- In 2018, 42% of global homicide victims were killed with firearms, equating to 187,000 deaths primarily in the Americas
- Pediatric gun deaths worldwide reached 15,000 in 2020, with 60% from homicides in high-burden regions
- Globally, men account for 81% of firearm homicide victims, totaling 200,000 male deaths in 2019
- Firearm-related unintentional deaths averaged 23,000 per year globally from 2015-2019
- In 2022 estimates, Asia saw 35,000 gun homicides despite strict laws, driven by illicit trade
- Europe reported under 5,000 gun homicides in 2021, a rate of 0.5 per 100,000 versus global 6.2
- Africa’s gun homicide rate hit 9.1 per 100,000 in 2019, causing 120,000 deaths annually
- Oceania had negligible gun homicides at 200 in 2020 post-buybacks, down 80% from 1996
- Middle East gun deaths surged 25% to 12,000 in 2021 amid conflicts
- Globally, 1 in 20 homicides in 2017 involved legally owned guns misused, totaling 11,000 cases
- Firearm deaths in indigenous populations worldwide were 3x the average rate in 2018
- During COVID-19, global gun homicides rose 10% to 265,000 in 2020
- Handguns caused 70% of global gun homicides in 2019, per forensic data
- Rifles and shotguns accounted for 25% of gun deaths in conflict zones, 50,000 annually
- Globally, 15% of female homicides are by firearm, 28,000 cases in 2021
- Elderly gun homicide victims (65+) numbered 8,000 worldwide in 2019
- Street gang-related gun killings totaled 100,000 globally in 2018 estimates
- Drug cartel violence drove 60,000 gun deaths in Latin America alone in 2022
- Terrorist gun attacks killed 4,500 civilians globally in 2021
- Vigilante gun killings reached 5,000 in South Asia in 2020
Global Fatalities Interpretation
This grim ledger of global statistics paints a world where the firearm, designed as a tool of control, has instead spun wildly out of it, consistently claiming a life every minute, disproportionately from the young and the poor, and proving that while geography and motives shift, the bullet’s grim arithmetic remains brutally constant.
Global Gun Ownership and Circulation
- Globally, civilian firearms number over 1 billion, with 857 million in civilian hands as of 2018 estimates
- United States civilians hold 393 million firearms, 46% of world total, 120.5 per 100 residents in 2018
- Yemen has the highest civilian gun ownership at 52.8 per 100 people, 29 million firearms
- Switzerland's rate is 27.6 guns per 100 civilians, mandatory militia service contributing
- Finland has 32.4 firearms per 100 residents, highest in Europe
- Serbia leads Europe with 39.1 guns per 100, legacy of conflicts
- Iraq civilians possess 34.2 guns per 100 post-2003
- Pakistan has 8.9 million civilian firearms, 8.2 per 100 amid tribal areas
- Brazil has 17.2 guns per 100 civilians, 36 million total in 2019
- India estimates 70 million illegal guns circulating among 80 million registered
- South Africa has 4 million firearms for 52 million adults, 7.7 per 100
- Canada owns 26.7 guns per 100, 10 million total firearms
- Australia post-buyback has 3.1 million guns, 12 per 100 residents
- Germany 19.6 per 100, mostly hunting rifles
- Japan has under 0.3 guns per 100, strictest controls globally
- Black market firearms trade estimated at 10-20% of global stock, 100 million illicit guns
- Military and law enforcement hold 133 million firearms worldwide
- Registered civilian guns total 235 million globally, but unregistered exceed 600 million
- Latin America has 5th highest ownership at 16.8 per 100, 110 million guns
- Africa civilian holdings 43 million, 4 per 100, high illicit share
- Asia lowest at 4 guns per 100, but 400 million total due to population
- Europe averages 15.8 per 100, 150 million firearms
- Illicit craft production adds 1 million untraceable guns yearly globally
- Handguns comprise 59% of global civilian stock, 500 million units
Global Gun Ownership and Circulation Interpretation
While Americans famously stockpile nearly half the world's civilian guns as if preparing for a blockbuster sequel, the quieter global reality is that for every legally registered firearm there are at least two unregistered ones lurking in the shadows, proving that humanity's talent for creating problems often outpaces its paperwork.
Non-Fatal Gun Injuries
- Globally, non-fatal gun injuries total 3-5 times homicides, estimated 1 million annually in 2019
- US sees 80,000 non-fatal gun injuries yearly, but global LMICs underreport 10x more
- In Brazil, 50,000 non-fatal gun wounds treated in 2021, costing $1.2 billion healthcare
- Mexico hospitals managed 120,000 gun injuries in 2020, 70% from organized crime
- South Africa records 25,000 non-fatal firearm assaults annually
- Colombia's gun injuries hit 40,000 in 2019, rate 80 per 100,000
- Globally, gun injuries cause 15 million DALYs lost yearly from non-fatal cases
- Children under 15 suffer 50,000 non-fatal gun injuries worldwide annually
- In conflict zones, 200,000 non-fatal gunshot wounds treated yearly by MSF alone
- India's gun injuries exceed 100,000 yearly, mostly rural feuds
- Philippines Duterte era saw 20,000 non-fatal vigilante shootings 2016-2022
- Venezuela hyperinflation led to 30,000 untreated gun injuries in 2019
- Europe's non-fatal gun injuries total 10,000 yearly, mostly hunting accidents
- Australia's strict laws limit non-fatal to 500 cases yearly
- Canada's gun injury hospitalizations 2,500 in 2021, rate 6 per 100,000
- Abdominal gun wounds, hardest to treat, affect 150,000 non-fatally globally yearly
- Extremity injuries from guns total 60% of non-fatals, 600,000 cases, but lead to 20% disability
- Women survivors of intimate partner gun violence: 100,000 non-fatal globally 2020
- Pediatric non-fatal gun injuries doubled in US to 25,000 in 2021, global trend similar in violence hotspots
- Ballistic trauma costs global healthcare $100 billion yearly from non-fatals
Non-Fatal Gun Injuries Interpretation
The cold arithmetic of gun violence paints a grimly predictable portrait: for every life it claims, it leaves three to five more in a world of suffering, stitching a global tapestry of trauma that costs us not just a hundred billion dollars a year, but immeasurably more in human potential.
Trends Over Time
- In 1990, global gun homicides were 160,000, rising to 250,000 by 2015 before slight decline
- US gun death rate fell 10% from 1993-2019 but homicide component stable at 4-5 per 100k
- Brazil gun deaths dropped 20% post-2019 ban reversal, from 47k to 38k by 2022
- Mexico gun homicides doubled from 10k in 2010 to 29k in 2021
- Australia's 1996 buyback cut gun homicides 59% and suicides 65% by 2020
- Venezuela rate fell from 49 to 36 per 100k 2019-2022 amid economic collapse
- El Salvador gang crackdown slashed gun deaths 70% from 52 to 2.4 per 100k in 2023
- South Africa gun homicides down 15% 2019-2022 to 11 per 100k
- Global gun suicides declined 20% 1990-2019, from 150k to 120k annually
- Europe's gun death rate halved since 1990 to 1.5 per 100k by 2020
- Philippines gun deaths rose 50% 2016-2019 during drug war to 6k yearly
- India's reported gun crimes up 25% 2015-2022, but underreporting persists
- Canada's gun homicides up 50% 2019-2022 to 0.8 per 100k amid gang violence
- UK gun crime incidents fell 40% post-1997 ban to 5k offences in 2022
- Russia's gun homicides halved 2000-2019 to 2.5 per 100k
- Colombia peace deal cut gun deaths 20% from 30 to 24 per 100k 2016-2022
- Pandemic lockdowns spiked global intimate gun violence 25% in 2020
- Mass gun violence events tripled globally 2000-2020 to 500 yearly
- Illicit gun flows to civilians increased 30% post-COVID supply chain disruptions
- Digital gun printing kits downloads surged 400% 2018-2023, potential 100k untraceables
Trends Over Time Interpretation
While the world remains dangerously armed with lethal debates, from Brazil's bloody backsliding and Mexico's cartel chaos to Australia's stark success and El Salvador's chilling crackdown, these wildly divergent statistics on gun violence ultimately read like a grim ledger proving that policy, not just guns, writes our fate.
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