Gun ownership
Gun ownership is the act of owning a gun. In 2018, Small Arms Survey reported that there are over one billion small arms distributed globally, of which 857 million are in civilian hands. The Small Arms Survey stated that U.S. civilians alone account for 393 million of the worldwide total of civilian held firearms. This amounts to "120.5 firearms for every 100 residents."
The world's armed forces control about 133 million of the global total of small arms, of which over 43 percent belong to two countries: the Russian Federation and China. Law enforcement agencies control about 23 million of the global total of small arms.
Global distribution of civilian-held firearms
The following data comes from the Small Arms Survey.| Countries and territories | Estimate of firearms in civilian possession | Population 2017 | Estimate of civilian firearms per 100 persons |
| 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 Darussalam | 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 |
| Cabo Verde | 31,000 | 533,000 | 5.7 |
| 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 |
| Cayman Islands | 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 |
| China, Macao SAR | 22,000 | 606,000 | 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 |
| Congo, Republic of | 119,000 | 4,866,000 | 2.4 |
| Costa Rica | 493,000 | 4,906,000 | 10.0 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 1,049,000 | 23,816,000 | 4.4 |
| Croatia | 576,000 | 4,210,000 | 13.7 |
| Cuba | 234,000 | 11,390,000 | 2.1 |
| Curaçao | 4,000 | 160,000 | 2.6 |
| Cyprus, Rep. of | 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 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 66.7 |
| Faroe Islands | 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 | 55,000 | 283,000 | 19.6 |
| French Polynesia | 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 | 1,000 | 32,000 | 4.1 |
| Greece | 1,920,000 | 10,893,000 | 17.6 |
| Greenland | 13,000 | 56,000 | 22.3 |
| Grenada | 5,000 | 108,000 | 4.6 |
| Guadeloupe | 40,000 | 472,000 | 8.5 |
| Guam | 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 SAR, 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, Islamic Republic of | 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 |
| 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 |
| Korea, DPR | 76,000 | 25,405,000 | 0.3 |
| Korea, Republic of | 79,000 | 50,705,000 | 0.2 |
| Kosovo | 436,000 | 1,831,000 | 23.8 |
| Kuwait | 685,000 | 4,100,000 | 16.7 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 171,000 | 6,125,000 | 2.8 |
| Lao, People's Democratic Republic | 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 |
| 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 | 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, Fed. Sts. | 700 | 106,000 | 0.7 |
| Moldova, Republic of | 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 | 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 | 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 | 1,000 | 56,000 | 2.6 |
| 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 | 422,000 | 3,679,000 | 11.5 |
| Puntland | 246,000 | 1,995,000 | 12.3 |
| Qatar | 390,000 | 2,338,000 | 16.7 |
| Réunion | 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 | 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 | 12,564,089 | 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 | 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 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, United Republic of Africa | 427,000 | 56,878,000 | 0.8 |
| Thailand | 10,342,000 | 68,298,000 | 15.1 |
| Timor-Leste | 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 | 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 Kingdom | 7,975,000 | 66,186,000 | 8.3 |
| United States of America | 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 | 300 | 31,000 | 0.8 |
| Virgin Islands | 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
Some studies suggest that higher rates of gun ownership are associated with higher homicide rates, although Gary Kleck argues that the highest-quality studies show that gun ownership does not increase homicide rates. Higher rates of gun ownership are also associated with higher suicide rates and higher accidental gun death rates. The availability of illegal guns, but not that of legal guns, is associated with higher rates of violent crime. Studies have shown that 36.3% of people had access to a gun and 5% carried the gun with them. However 7.3% stored their guns in an unsafe place. Certain people have blamed individuals with mental disorders for being dangerous and violent with the use of guns. Nonetheless, other studies have been conducted and show that 34.1% have access to guns. 4.8% carry a gun with them and 6.2% store the gun in an unsafe manner. The statistics show that gun ownership is significantly high in both sets of individuals, however, none of the figures show people with a mental illness are as dangerous with guns than people with perfect mental health.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. This study has been criticized for combining high-income countries with middle-income countries ; if middle-income countries are excluded from the analysis, a strong relationship emerges between gun ownership and homicide. 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, the relationship ceases to be significant. The association between gun ownership and homicide rates across nations is dependent on the inclusion of the U.S. Studies in Canada that examined the levels of gun ownership by province have found no correlations with provincial overall suicide rates. 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. A case-control study conducted in New Zealand looking at household gun ownership and the risk of suicides found no significant associations.