Crime

Countries With the Highest Gun Deaths per Capita

24/7 Wall St. Staff

Published: February 29, 2024 1:30 pm

The new year has barely gotten to a start and there are already more gun deaths in the first two months of 2024 than most countries have seen in decades. Some countries have minimal to no gun violence. In countries like Japan and Norway, where gun laws are strict, rates of gun violence pale in comparison to the United States. According to the Gun Violence Archive, as of mid-February, almost 5,000 people have succumbed to gun violence. Unfortunately, each year brings with it a new tally of firearm-related incidences.

In 2023, the United States saw more than 43,000 deaths from gun violence. Included in that figure, which comes from data released by the Gun Violence Archive, are an astonishing 656 mass shootings, and while these numbers are astronomically high, some figures have gone down since the previous year – 2022 had a total of 47,458 total gun violence deaths, while others have increased (mass shootings in 2022 held at 644).  It remains to be seen if 2024 will surpass the previous year’s gun violence deaths, or the record 690 mass shootings set in 2021. (2022 had more mass shootings than days in the year.)

While the United States leads the world in many impressive accomplishments, ranking high for gun deaths is not one of them. Yet, they aren’t alone in their firearm struggles. Many other countries wrestle with gun violence. In Mexico, guns were used in the vast majority of homicides, contributing to 22,118 total gun deaths in 2019. In Brazil, President Bolsonaro loosened gun law, despite the country’s 49,437 gun-related fatalities in the year he was elected to office, 2019. Both Brazil and Mexico grapple with drug cartel gun violence.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on overall gun deaths and per capita, gun deaths in 204 countries in 2019 from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluations to determine the countries with the highest gun deaths. Countries were ranked on 2019 gun deaths per person. We added overall and per capita gun figures on interpersonal violent firearm deaths, self-inflicted firearm deaths, and unintentional firearm deaths in 2019, also from the IHME. Gun ownership data came from the 2017 Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based research project. The 2021 population figure came from the World Bank. Only countries with more than 1,000 firearm deaths were included on the list.

Among countries with the most gun deaths per capita, the U.S. holds a high-ranking position in several categories. The U.S. ranks No. 2 for the most gun deaths overall and No. 1 in the rate of self-inflicted gun deaths. Many lawmakers attribute the high rate of gun deaths in the U.S. to lax gun laws. The U.S. also holds the No. 1 ranking for civilian firearm ownership, with 120.5 firearms owned per 100 persons.

In fact, according to the Small Arms Survey, the U.S. has 46% of all civilian-owned guns across the globe, despite having less than 5% of the global population. Among the countries on our list, No. 14, Pakistan, has the second highest number of civilian firearm owners per 100 persons. (States Where Gun Deaths Are Increasing Fastest.)

Three of the top five countries with the most gun deaths overall are in South America, one is in North America, and one is in Asia. El Salvador, No. 17, has the highest rate of interpersonal violent firearm deaths, per 100,000 people, followed by No. 6, Venezuela, and No. 8, Guatemala. On a per capita basis, however, the countries with the worst gun violence are all in the Western Hemisphere, with the top six countries all in South America.

33. China

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• 2019 gun deaths: 0.8 per million (total: 1,126 — 29th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 0.2 per million — #202 out of 204 (total: 334)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 0.3 per million — #202 out of 204 most (total: 467)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 0.2 per million — #192 out of 204 (total: 325)
• 2017 gun ownership: 3.6 firearms per 100 people — #22 out of 230 (total: 4,971,000)
• 2021 population: 1,412,360,000

32. Bangladesh

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• 2019 gun deaths: 9.9 per million (total: 1,580 — 24th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 7.8 per million — #103 out of 204 (total: 1,235)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 1.5 per million — #168 out of 204 most (total: 231)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 0.7 per million — #156 out of 204 (total: 114)
• 2017 gun ownership: 0.4 firearms per 100 people — #32 out of 230 (total: 7,588,000)
• 2021 population: 166,303,494

31. India

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• 2019 gun deaths: 10.6 per million (total: 14,712 — 4th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 5.7 per million — #120 out of 204 (total: 7,977)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 4.4 per million — #107 out of 204 most (total: 6,145)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 0.4 per million — #179 out of 204 (total: 589)
• 2017 gun ownership: 5.3 firearms per 100 people — #20 out of 230 (total: 331,000)
• 2021 population: 1,393,409,033

30. Germany

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• 2019 gun deaths: 12.0 per million (total: 1,020 — 32th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 1.0 per million — #187 out of 204 (total: 84)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 10.6 per million — #36 out of 204 most (total: 899)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 0.4 per million — #176 out of 204 (total: 37)
• 2017 gun ownership: 19.6 firearms per 100 people — #3 out of 230 (total: 393,347,000)
• 2021 population: 83,129,285

29. Pakistan

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• 2019 gun deaths: 13.2 per million (total: 2,949 — 14th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 7.7 per million — #105 out of 204 (total: 1,721)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 3.2 per million — #127 out of 204 most (total: 710)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 2.3 per million — #100 out of 204 (total: 517)
• 2017 gun ownership: 22.3 firearms per 100 people — #2 out of 230 (total: 12,732,000)
• 2021 population: 225,199,929

28. Democratic Republic of the Congo

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• 2019 gun deaths: 15.1 per million (total: 1,325 — 26th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 4.4 per million — #130 out of 204 (total: 382)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 4.5 per million — #103 out of 204 most (total: 395)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 6.3 per million — #51 out of 204 (total: 548)
• 2017 gun ownership: 1.2 firearms per 100 people — #28 out of 230 (total: 2,062,000)
• 2021 population: 92,377,986

27. Russia

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• 2019 gun deaths: 16.9 per million (total: 2,480 — 16th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 7.8 per million — #101 out of 204 (total: 1,145)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 7.2 per million — #66 out of 204 most (total: 1,053)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 1.9 per million — #108 out of 204 (total: 282)
• 2017 gun ownership: 12.3 firearms per 100 people — #12 out of 230 (total: 13,249,000)
• 2021 population: 143,446,060

26. Nigeria

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• 2019 gun deaths: 23.8 per million (total: 5,103 — 9th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 16.2 per million — #68 out of 204 (total: 3,482)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 2.1 per million — #148 out of 204 most (total: 458)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 5.4 per million — #61 out of 204 (total: 1,163)
• 2017 gun ownership: 3.2 firearms per 100 people — #24 out of 230 (total: 795,000)
• 2021 population: 211,400,704

25. Uganda

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• 2019 gun deaths: 26.9 per million (total: 1,108 — 30th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 19.4 per million — #64 out of 204 (total: 799)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 2.6 per million — #140 out of 204 most (total: 108)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 4.9 per million — #67 out of 204 (total: 201)
• 2017 gun ownership: 0.8 firearms per 100 people — #30 out of 230 (total: 71,101,000)
• 2021 population: 47,123,533

24. Turkey

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• 2019 gun deaths: 27.4 per million (total: 2,232 — 18th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 11.9 per million — #78 out of 204 (total: 967)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 7.2 per million — #65 out of 204 most (total: 585)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 8.4 per million — #30 out of 204 (total: 680)
• 2017 gun ownership: 16.5 firearms per 100 people — #7 out of 230 (total: 17,620,000)
• 2021 population: 85,042,736

23. Tanzania

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• 2019 gun deaths: 29.7 per million (total: 1,684 — 23th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 20.4 per million — #61 out of 204 (total: 1,159)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 3.6 per million — #125 out of 204 most (total: 203)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 5.7 per million — #57 out of 204 (total: 323)
• 2017 gun ownership: 0.8 firearms per 100 people — #30 out of 230 (total: 377,000)
• 2021 population: 61,498,438

22. France

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• 2019 gun deaths: 31.7 per million (total: 2,098 — 19th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 3.4 per million — #146 out of 204 (total: 222)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 26.4 per million — #9 out of 204 most (total: 1,748)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 1.9 per million — #109 out of 204 (total: 127)
• 2017 gun ownership: 19.6 firearms per 100 people — #3 out of 230 (total: 43,917,000)
• 2021 population: 67,499,343

21. Ethiopia

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• 2019 gun deaths: 34.5 per million (total: 3,712 — 11th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 21.3 per million — #60 out of 204 (total: 2,293)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 3.2 per million — #128 out of 204 most (total: 340)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 10.0 per million — #21 out of 204 (total: 1,079)
• 2017 gun ownership: 0.4 firearms per 100 people — #32 out of 230 (total: 427,000)
• 2021 population: 117,876,226

20. Ivory Coast

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• 2019 gun deaths: 38.9 per million (total: 1,017 — 33th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 27.0 per million — #50 out of 204 (total: 707)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 6.0 per million — #77 out of 204 most (total: 157)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 5.8 per million — #56 out of 204 (total: 153)
• 2017 gun ownership: 4.4 firearms per 100 people — #21 out of 230 (total: 17,510,000)
• 2021 population: 27,053,629

19. Thailand

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• 2019 gun deaths: 40.0 per million (total: 2,804 — 15th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 33.5 per million — #41 out of 204 (total: 2,351)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 5.5 per million — #86 out of 204 most (total: 382)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 1.0 per million — #138 out of 204 (total: 71)
• 2017 gun ownership: 15.1 firearms per 100 people — #8 out of 230 (total: 750,000)
• 2021 population: 69,950,844

18. Kenya

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• 2019 gun deaths: 41.8 per million (total: 2,098 — 19th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 30.5 per million — #43 out of 204 (total: 1,533)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 3.9 per million — #116 out of 204 most (total: 195)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 7.4 per million — #37 out of 204 (total: 370)
• 2017 gun ownership: 1.5 firearms per 100 people — #27 out of 230 (total: 10,342,000)
• 2021 population: 54,985,702

17. Mali

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• 2019 gun deaths: 50.4 per million (total: 1,105 — 31th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 38.3 per million — #34 out of 204 (total: 841)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 4.0 per million — #112 out of 204 most (total: 87)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 8.1 per million — #33 out of 204 (total: 177)
• 2017 gun ownership: 1.1 firearms per 100 people — #29 out of 230 (total: 16,809,000)
• 2021 population: 20,855,724

16. Ecuador

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• 2019 gun deaths: 64.1 per million (total: 1,127 — 28th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 56.2 per million — #26 out of 204 (total: 989)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 5.1 per million — #93 out of 204 most (total: 90)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 2.7 per million — #91 out of 204 (total: 48)
• 2017 gun ownership: 2.4 firearms per 100 people — #26 out of 230 (total: 5,895,000)
• 2021 population: 17,888,474

15. Somalia

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• 2019 gun deaths: 64.5 per million (total: 1,313 — 27th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 38.5 per million — #33 out of 204 (total: 783)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 6.3 per million — #71 out of 204 most (total: 129)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 19.7 per million — #10 out of 204 (total: 401)
• 2017 gun ownership: 12.4 firearms per 100 people — #11 out of 230 (total: 3,776,000)
• 2021 population: 16,359,500

14. South Africa

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• 2019 gun deaths: 65.0 per million (total: 3,610 — 12th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 52.8 per million — #28 out of 204 (total: 2,937)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 7.1 per million — #67 out of 204 most (total: 397)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 5.0 per million — #65 out of 204 (total: 276)
• 2017 gun ownership: 9.7 firearms per 100 people — #16 out of 230 (total: 291,000)
• 2021 population: 60,041,996

13. Argentina

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• 2019 gun deaths: 73.3 per million (total: 3,309 — 13th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 37.9 per million — #35 out of 204 (total: 1,709)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 26.7 per million — #6 out of 204 most (total: 1,204)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 8.8 per million — #27 out of 204 (total: 396)
• 2017 gun ownership: 7.4 firearms per 100 people — #18 out of 230 (total: 1,171,000)
• 2021 population: 45,808,747

12. Philippines

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• 2019 gun deaths: 82.6 per million (total: 9,268 — 7th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 80.5 per million — #21 out of 204 (total: 9,028)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 1.0 per million — #176 out of 204 most (total: 110)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 1.2 per million — #129 out of 204 (total: 130)
• 2017 gun ownership: 3.6 firearms per 100 people — #22 out of 230 (total: 1,145,000)
• 2021 population: 111,046,910

11. Iraq

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• 2019 gun deaths: 105.0 per million (total: 4,424 — 10th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 62.9 per million — #24 out of 204 (total: 2,649)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 10.2 per million — #39 out of 204 most (total: 428)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 32.0 per million — #5 out of 204 (total: 1,347)
• 2017 gun ownership: 19.6 firearms per 100 people — #3 out of 230 (total: 659,000)
• 2021 population: 41,179,351

10. United States of America

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• 2019 gun deaths: 112.9 per million (total: 37,040 — 2th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 39.6 per million — #32 out of 204 (total: 13,001)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 71.2 per million — #2 out of 204 most (total: 23,365)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 2.1 per million — #103 out of 204 (total: 674)
• 2017 gun ownership: 120.5 firearms per 100 people — #1 out of 230 (total: 15,822,000)
• 2021 population: 331,893,745

9. Dominican Republic

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• 2019 gun deaths: 140.2 per million (total: 1,526 — 25th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 118.4 per million — #14 out of 204 (total: 1,288)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 8.8 per million — #51 out of 204 most (total: 96)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 13.0 per million — #15 out of 204 (total: 141)
• 2017 gun ownership: 7.4 firearms per 100 people — #18 out of 230 (total: 6,154,000)
• 2021 population: 10,953,714

8. Haiti

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• 2019 gun deaths: 159.2 per million (total: 1,975 — 22th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 102.2 per million — #18 out of 204 (total: 1,268)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 4.8 per million — #100 out of 204 most (total: 60)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 52.2 per million — #1 out of 204 (total: 647)
• 2017 gun ownership: 2.6 firearms per 100 people — #25 out of 230 (total: 5,351,000)
• 2021 population: 11,541,683

7. Mexico

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• 2019 gun deaths: 177.0 per million (total: 22,118 — 3th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 164.1 per million — #10 out of 204 (total: 20,509)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 7.3 per million — #64 out of 204 most (total: 914)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 5.6 per million — #59 out of 204 (total: 696)
• 2017 gun ownership: 12.9 firearms per 100 people — #10 out of 230 (total: 206,000)
• 2021 population: 130,262,220

6. Honduras

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• 2019 gun deaths: 213.0 per million (total: 2,091 — 21th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 201.5 per million — #7 out of 204 (total: 1,978)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 3.5 per million — #126 out of 204 most (total: 35)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 8.0 per million — #35 out of 204 (total: 79)
• 2017 gun ownership: 14.1 firearms per 100 people — #9 out of 230 (total: 3,256,000)
• 2021 population: 10,062,994

5. Brazil

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• 2019 gun deaths: 228.2 per million (total: 49,437 — 1th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 219.3 per million — #5 out of 204 (total: 47,510)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 5.8 per million — #81 out of 204 most (total: 1,259)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 3.1 per million — #85 out of 204 (total: 668)
• 2017 gun ownership: 8.3 firearms per 100 people — #17 out of 230 (total: 1,049,000)
• 2021 population: 213,993,441

4. Colombia

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• 2019 gun deaths: 275.7 per million (total: 13,171 — 5th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 263.6 per million — #4 out of 204 (total: 12,596)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 10.0 per million — #41 out of 204 most (total: 478)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 2.0 per million — #105 out of 204 (total: 97)
• 2017 gun ownership: 10.1 firearms per 100 people — #15 out of 230 (total: 49,735,000)
• 2021 population: 51,265,841

3. Guatemala

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• 2019 gun deaths: 336.5 per million (total: 5,982 — 8th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 290.6 per million — #3 out of 204 (total: 5,165)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 3.6 per million — #124 out of 204 most (total: 64)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 42.3 per million — #2 out of 204 (total: 752)
• 2017 gun ownership: 12.1 firearms per 100 people — #13 out of 230 (total: 946,000)
• 2021 population: 17,109,746

2. El Salvador

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• 2019 gun deaths: 369.8 per million (total: 2,313 — 17th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 367.8 per million — #1 out of 204 (total: 2,301)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 1.6 per million — #162 out of 204 most (total: 10)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 0.5 per million — #171 out of 204 (total: 03)
• 2017 gun ownership: 12.0 firearms per 100 people — #14 out of 230 (total: 737,000)
• 2021 population: 6,518,500

1. Venezuela

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• 2019 gun deaths: 377.6 per million (total: 10,599 — 6th most)
• 2019 interpersonal violent firearm deaths: 332.7 per million — #2 out of 204 (total: 9,338)
• 2019 self-inflicted firearm deaths: 25.0 per million — #10 out of 204 most (total: 702)
• 2019 unintentional firearm deaths: 19.9 per million — #9 out of 204 (total: 559)
• 2017 gun ownership: 18.5 firearms per 100 people — #6 out of 230 (total: 402,000)
• 2021 population: 28,704,947

Methodology

24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on overall gun deaths and per capita, gun deaths in 2019 from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluations as well as over and per capita gun figures on physical violence deaths, self-harms deaths, and unintentional deaths from firearms in 2019 also from the IHME to determine the countries with the highest gun deaths. Gun ownership data comes from the 2017 Small Arms Survey. 2021 population numbers are from the World Bank. Only countries with more than 1,000 firearm deaths were included on the list.