When it comes to the countries with the most police firepower, size matters.
For example, the United States has been channeling billions of dollars of surplus military equipment to thousands of its local police department for decades, and as a result has about 1.6 guns per police officer. While that is high compared to countries with larger populations, it is relatively low compared to countries with small populations, like Belarus, Belgium, and Finland, which have 1.9 or more firearms for every police officer. (Here are America’s most heavily policed cities.)
To determine how police firepower compares in the world’s largest countries, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from Small Arms Survey, an international firearms-monitoring organization. We ranked the 27 counties in the survey with populations of at least 50 million people by the estimated number of police firearms per sworn police officer in 2017, the most recently available year of police firearm data. Population-adjusted police officer figures were calculated using 2021 population data from the World Bank.
Among the countries with larger populations, the U.S. ranks sixth, just below Iran but more than Bangladesh. The more than two dozen countries with populations higher than 50 million people have between 0.7 guns per sworn officer in China to nearly two guns per officer in Russia.
The two largest countries by population, China and India, have more police officers than firearms. Japan, Tanzania, and the Philippines also have fewer guns than law enforcement officers. Germany, France, Russia, and South Africa, however, have more guns than police officers and rank in the top five countries with the highest ratio of guns per law enforcement personnel. (Here is every country that has abolished the death penalty and when.)
When it comes to the number of police relative to the population, Egypt is a major outlier, with a staggering 12 police officers for every 1,000 residents. By comparison, China, a country well known for policing its population, has only two officers for every 1,000 residents. Egypt has 1.2 firearms for every police officer, in line with the global average, compared to China’s 0.7 guns for each police officer.
How police firepower compares in the world’s largest countries.
Source: Scott Barbour / Getty Images News via Getty Images
27. England and Wales
> Est. police firearms: 0.23 per sworn officer (28,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.1 per 1,000 people (124,066 total)
> Population: 58,877,000 (as of 2017)
> Region: Northern Europe
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Source: Betsy Joles / Getty Images News via Getty Images
26. China
> Est. police firearms: 0.68 per sworn officer (1,971,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.0 per 1,000 people (2,893,000 total)
> Population: 1,412,360,000
> Region: Eastern Asia
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Source: Dinesh Ahir / iStock via Getty Images
25. India
> Est. police firearms: 0.69 per sworn officer (1,700,000 total)
> Police officer count: 1.8 per 1,000 people (2,464,484 total)
> Population: 1,393,409,033
> Region: Southern Asia
Source: wilpunt / Getty Images
24. Tanzania, United Republic of
> Est. police firearms: 0.81 per sworn officer (37,000 total)
> Police officer count: 0.7 per 1,000 people (45,487 total)
> Population: 61,498,438
> Region: Eastern Africa
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Source: junpinzon / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
23. Philippines
> Est. police firearms: 0.93 per sworn officer (139,043 total)
> Police officer count: 1.3 per 1,000 people (149,333 total)
> Population: 111,046,910
> Region: South-eastern Asia
Source: Askar Karimullin / iStock via Getty Images
22. Japan
> Est. police firearms: 0.97 per sworn officer (252,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.1 per 1,000 people (258,970 total)
> Population: 125,681,593
> Region: Eastern Asia
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Source: David_Bokuchava / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
21. Vietnam
> Est. police firearms: 1.00 per sworn officer (285,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.9 per 1,000 people (285,385 total)
> Population: 98,168,829
> Region: South-eastern Asia
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Source: Em Campos / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
20. Italy
> Est. police firearms: 1.00 per sworn officer (273,000 total)
> Police officer count: 4.6 per 1,000 people (273,341 total)
> Population: 59,066,225
> Region: Southern Europe
Source: Lutfi Hanafi / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
19. Indonesia
> Est. police firearms: 1.00 per sworn officer (429,000 total)
> Police officer count: 1.6 per 1,000 people (429,341 total)
> Population: 276,361,788
> Region: South-eastern Asia
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Source: Sirachai Arunrugstichai / Stringer / Getty Images News
18. Thailand
> Est. police firearms: 1.00 per sworn officer (230,000 total)
> Police officer count: 3.3 per 1,000 people (230,000 total)
> Population: 69,950,844
> Region: South-eastern Asia
Source: Thomas Faull / iStock / Getty Images Plus
17. Korea, Republic of (South)
> Est. police firearms: 1.00 per sworn officer (115,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.2 per 1,000 people (114,658 total)
> Population: 51,744,876
> Region: Eastern Asia
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Source: Ed Wray / Stringer / Getty Images News
16. Myanmar
> Est. police firearms: 1.00 per sworn officer (76,000 total)
> Police officer count: 1.4 per 1,000 people (75,640 total)
> Population: 54,806,014
> Region: South-eastern Asia
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
15. Nigeria
> Est. police firearms: 1.14 per sworn officer (362,400 total)
> Police officer count: 1.5 per 1,000 people (318,158 total)
> Population: 211,400,704
> Region: Western Africa
Source: Getty Images / Stringer / Getty Images News
14. Ethiopia
> Est. police firearms: 1.14 per sworn officer (79,000 total)
> Police officer count: 0.6 per 1,000 people (69,000 total)
> Population: 117,876,226
> Region: Eastern Africa
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Source: Mario Tama / Getty Images
13. Brazil
> Est. police firearms: 1.17 per sworn officer (803,000 total)
> Police officer count: 3.2 per 1,000 people (687,684 total)
> Population: 213,993,441
> Region: South America
Source: Diy13 / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
12. Egypt
> Est. police firearms: 1.20 per sworn officer (1,530,000 total)
> Police officer count: 12.2 per 1,000 people (1,275,000 total)
> Population: 104,258,327
> Region: Northern Africa
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Source: Brent Stirton / Staff / Getty Images News
11. Democratic Republic of Congo
> Est. police firearms: 1.21 per sworn officer (46,000 total)
> Police officer count: 0.4 per 1,000 people (38,000 total)
> Population: 92,377,986
> Region: Middle Africa
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10. Mexico
> Est. police firearms: 1.30 per sworn officer (591,000 total)
> Police officer count: 3.5 per 1,000 people (454,574 total)
> Population: 130,262,220
> Region: Central America
9. Turkey
> Est. police firearms: 1.50 per sworn officer (620,000 total)
> Police officer count: 4.9 per 1,000 people (413,527 total)
> Population: 85,042,736
> Region: Western Asia
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Source: Daniel Berehulak / Staff / Getty Images News
8. Pakistan
> Est. police firearms: 1.50 per sworn officer (944,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.8 per 1,000 people (629,587 total)
> Population: 225,199,929
> Region: Southern Asia
Source: Majid Saeedi / Getty Images News via Getty Images
7. Iran
> Est. police firearms: 1.51 per sworn officer (98,000 total)
> Police officer count: 0.8 per 1,000 people (65,000 total)
> Population: 85,028,760
> Region: Southern Asia
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Source: Brett Carlsen / Getty Images News via Getty Images
6. United States of America
> Est. police firearms: 1.56 per sworn officer (1,016,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.0 per 1,000 people (652,936 total)
> Population: 331,893,745
> Region: Northern America
Source: Allison Joyce / Stringer / Getty Images News
5. Bangladesh
> Est. police firearms: 1.66 per sworn officer (333,000 total)
> Police officer count: 1.2 per 1,000 people (200,530 total)
> Population: 166,303,494
> Region: Southern Asia
Source: James Oatway / Stringer / Getty Images News
4. South Africa
> Est. police firearms: 1.66 per sworn officer (250,481 total)
> Police officer count: 2.5 per 1,000 people (150,513 total)
> Population: 60,041,996
> Region: Southern Africa
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3. Russian Federation
> Est. police firearms: 1.90 per sworn officer (2,432,000 total)
> Police officer count: 8.9 per 1,000 people (1,280,000 total)
> Population: 143,446,060
> Region: Eastern Europe
Source: Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images News via Getty Images
2. France
> Est. police firearms: 1.90 per sworn officer (497,000 total)
> Police officer count: 3.9 per 1,000 people (261,392 total)
> Population: 67,499,343
> Region: Western Europe
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Source: huettenhoelscher / iStock via Getty Images
1. Germany
> Est. police firearms: 1.90 per sworn officer (466,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.9 per 1,000 people (245,072 total)
> Population: 83,129,285
> Region: Western Europe
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