Statistics on Gun Violence by Country: Why Some Places Are Safer Than Others

Gun violence. It’s a heavy topic that usually hits the headlines after a tragedy. But if you look at the raw data, the reality of statistics on gun violence by country is actually full of surprises that rarely make it into a 30-second news clip.

Some people think strict laws are the only thing that matters. Others point to culture. Honestly, it’s a mix of both, plus a whole lot of geography and economics.

In 2025, we saw some massive shifts. For instance, shooting deaths in the United States actually plummeted by about 14% compared to the previous year. That’s a huge deal. According to the Gun Violence Archive, deaths (excluding suicides) dropped to around 14,651. It’s the lowest we’ve seen in a decade. But even with that "good" news, the U.S. remains a massive outlier among wealthy nations.

The Global Leaders (But Not the Kind You Want)

When we talk about the highest rates of gun violence, we aren't usually talking about war zones. We’re talking about civilian areas in Latin America and the Caribbean. Places like El Salvador, Jamaica, and Honduras often top the charts.

Take El Salvador. For years, it held the title of the most dangerous country for gun homicides. Recently, things have changed due to massive (and controversial) government crackdowns on gangs, but historically, their rates hovered around 35 to 50 deaths per 100,000 people. To put that in perspective, the U.S. rate for firearm homicides is usually around 4.5 per 100,000.

Brazil is another heavy hitter. It’s a country where gun ownership is technically restricted, yet it often records the highest total number of gun deaths in the world—sometimes over 40,000 a year. It’s a reminder that "illegal" guns are often the biggest part of the problem in developing nations.

Why the U.S. is the "High-Income" Exception

If you compare the U.S. to countries like Brazil, it looks relatively safe. But if you compare it to its peers—the G7 countries or Western Europe—the gap is staggering.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) points out that firearm homicide rates in the U.S. are nearly 33 times higher than in Australia and a wild 77 times higher than in Germany.

Why? It’s not just the number of guns, though having roughly 120 firearms for every 100 people definitely plays a role. It’s also the type of violence. In Europe, gun deaths are more likely to be suicides. In the U.S., it’s a messy split.

A Quick Look at the Neighbors: Canada and Mexico

Canada is a fascinating middle ground. They have a lot of hunters and a decent amount of guns, but their firearm death rate is about 0.5 per 100,000. That’s nearly ten times lower than their southern neighbor.

Then you have Mexico. Mexico has only one legal gun store in the entire country—located on a military base in Mexico City. Yet, their gun violence rates are among the highest in the world. Why? Because an estimated 70% of the firearms recovered at crime scenes in Mexico are traced back to the United States. It's a "iron river" of guns flowing south.

The Safest Places: Where Guns Barely Exist

On the flip side, you have countries where gun violence is so rare it’s almost a statistical anomaly.

• Japan: Consistently reports fewer than 10 gun deaths total per year. Their laws are so strict that even the police often leave their weapons at the station.
• Singapore: Basically zero. The penalty for even possessing an unauthorized firearm can be life imprisonment or even caning.
• United Kingdom: After the Dunblane massacre in 1996, they banned most handguns. Today, their firearm homicide rate is around 0.04 per 100,000.

In these countries, the "gun culture" simply doesn't exist. You don't see them in movies as much, you don't see them in shops, and most people will go their entire lives without seeing a real gun outside of a holster on a police officer.

The Suicide Factor: The Statistics We Ignore

We tend to focus on mass shootings because they are terrifying and public. But if you want to understand statistics on gun violence by country, you have to look at the "hidden" data: suicide.

In the U.S., suicides actually account for the majority of gun deaths—usually over 55%. In 2025, while homicides were dropping, firearm suicides actually trended upward, potentially hitting over 28,000 for the year.

In high-income countries like Finland or Switzerland, where gun ownership is fairly high due to hunting or military traditions, the vast majority of gun deaths are suicides, not homicides. It turns out that when a gun is in the house, a moment of crisis is much more likely to become fatal because guns are, well, very effective at what they do.

What Really Works? Actionable Insights

Looking at the data from 2024 and 2025, several patterns emerge for what actually reduces these numbers. It isn't always a "total ban."

1. Red Flag Laws: These allow courts to temporarily remove guns from people in crisis. In states and countries where these are active, we see a measurable dip in both suicides and mass shootings.
2. Community Violence Intervention (CVI): This is the "secret sauce" for cities. By using local leaders to mediate beefs before they turn into shootings, cities like Baltimore and Chicago saw significant drops in 2025.
3. Secure Storage: A huge chunk of "accidental" deaths and stolen guns used in crimes come from unsecured weapons. Simply locking them up changes the math.
4. Addressing the "Iron River": For countries like Mexico and Canada, domestic laws only go so far. International cooperation to stop the smuggling of weapons across borders is the only real way to move the needle.

The numbers are shifting. The 14% drop in U.S. shooting deaths in 2025 shows that progress is possible, even in a country with more guns than people. But as long as the U.S. remains 77 times more dangerous than Germany, the conversation is far from over.

If you're looking to make a difference in your own community, supporting local CVI programs or advocating for secure storage education are two of the most statistically proven ways to help lower those numbers without getting bogged down in the usual political stalemate.

Next Steps for Deepening Your Understanding:

• Check the latest Gun Violence Archive real-time dashboard to see how your specific state compares to the national average.
• Review the Small Arms Survey for a deeper dive into how "ghost guns" and illegal trafficking are skewing the numbers in Europe and Latin America.
• Look into the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions for peer-reviewed studies on the efficacy of specific local policies.