Gun Violence Statistics U N I T E D S TAT E S C O M PA R E D W I T H OT H E R N AT I O N S By Jason Antonino July 20, 2022 Questions to Answer 1. US gun ownership rate – how does it compare to other countries? 2. What is the gun suicide rate in the US and how does it compare to other nations? 3. How do US gun death rates compare generally? Countries Analyzed United States of America (US) United Kingdom (UK) (England, Scotland, Wales) Canada Mexico Switzerland Sweden Syria Venezuela Japan Brazil Additional countries (El Salvador, Honduras, Germany, Australia, Finland, Uruguay, Italy) 120.5 34.7 27.6 23.1 18.5 12.9 8.2 5.6 4.6 0.3 United States of America Canada Switzerland Sweden Venezuela Mexico Syrian Arab Republic Scotland England and Wales Japan Firearms per 100 Civilians (2017) Gun Ownership Rates (2017) Source: https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/database/global-firearms-holdings 6.11 2.51 1.77 1.55 0.90 0.72 0.14 0.12 0.03 United States Venezuela Switzerland Canada Sweden Mexico United Kingdom Syria Japan Deaths - Self-harm by firearm in 2017 (rate per 100,000 population) Gun Suicide Deaths (2017) Source: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/suicide-rate-by-firearm Gun Suicide Deaths (1990 – 2019) Source: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/suicide-rate-by-firearm 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Firearm Suicide Rates per 100,000 Population (1990 - 2019) United States Mexico United Kingdom Syria Canada Switzerland Sweden Gun Death Rates by Nation (sorted by homicide rate per 100,000 people) Source: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-deaths-by-country Country Firearm-related death rate per 100K population (2022) homicide rate per year suicide rate per year total death number per year Honduras 60 66.64 0.41 5,846 El Salvador 45.6 26.49 0.13 2,942 Venezuela 49.22 26.48 0.14 14,036 Brazil 21.9 20.7 0.5 46,215 Mexico 7.64 6.34 0.44 9,745 Uruguay 11.52 4.78 4.68 399 United States 12.21 4.46 7.32 40,175 Germany 0.99 1.01 0.02 826 Canada 2.05 0.61 1.52 767 Italy 1.31 0.35 0.87 793 Finland 3.25 0.32 2.94 180 Sweden 1.6 0.32 1.23 160 Australia 1.04 0.18 0.8 262 Switzerland 3.01 0.15 2.74 258 United Kingdom 0.23 0.06 0.15 155 Japan 0.06 0 0.04 76 Gun Death Rates by Nation (sorted by suicide rate per 100,000 people) Source: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-deaths-by-country Country Firearm-related death rate per 100K population (2022) homicide rate per year suicide rate per year total death number per year United States 12.21 4.46 7.32 40,175 Uruguay 11.52 4.78 4.68 399 Finland 3.25 0.32 2.94 180 Switzerland 3.01 0.15 2.74 258 Canada 2.05 0.61 1.52 767 Sweden 1.6 0.32 1.23 160 Italy 1.31 0.35 0.87 793 Australia 1.04 0.18 0.8 262 Brazil 21.9 20.7 0.5 46,215 Mexico 7.64 6.34 0.44 9,745 Honduras 60 66.64 0.41 5,846 United Kingdom 0.23 0.06 0.15 155 Venezuela 49.22 26.48 0.14 14,036 El Salvador 45.6 26.49 0.13 2,942 Japan 0.06 0 0.04 76 Germany 0.99 1.01 0.02 826 Gun Ownership & Suicide Rates https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/database/global-firearms-holdings https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/suicide-rate-by-firearm 120.5 34.7 27.6 23.1 18.5 12.9 8.2 5.6 4.6 0.3 Firearms per 100 Civilians (2017) 6.11 2.51 1.77 1.55 0.90 0.72 0.14 0.12 0.03 Deaths - Self-harm by firearm in 2017 (rate per 100,000 population) Conclusions 1. There is a strong, direct correlation between gun ownership rates and gun suicide rates. 2. While correlation does not equal causation, it can be plainly seen from the graphics that higher gun ownership rates correspond to higher gun suicide rates. 3. Gun homicide rates do not have the same correlation with gun ownership rates as do gun suicide rates. Additional research is needed to identify correlation of homicide to ownership. 4. The United States has the highest personal gun ownership rate and gun suicide rate in the world. Honduras has the highest firearm homicide rate per capita followed by El Salvador and Venezuela, with Brazil placing fourth, and the US in seventh. Questions to Consider 1. Why does Switzerland have a higher gun suicide rate than Canada, even though Canada has a higher gun ownership rate? 2. What measures did Switzerland, Sweden, and Canada take to reduce their suicide rates from 1990 through 2019? 3. Why has the gun suicide rate in the US been mostly unchanged over that same period? References 1. Small Arms Survey - Global Firearms Holdings: https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/database/global- firearms-holdings 2. Our World In Data: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/suicide-rate-by-firearm 3. World Population Review: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-deaths-by-country Artwork attributions All flag images downloaded from Vecteezy.com under Free License. Q&A Q: Why did you select these particular countries? A: I wanted to compare US statistics with its closest neighbors (Mexico & Canada), the UK (first- world nation with low gun ownership), Switzerland and Sweden (first-world with high gun ownership), Venezuela and Brazil (South American countries with high crime), Japan (lowest gun ownership rate in the world), and Syria (war-torn Middle-eastern country). Where Syria was unavailable, I picked substitute countries, like Honduras and El Salvador, which have high rates of gun violence. I sprinkled in Germany, Australia, Finland, Uruguay, and Italy in 2 slides. This combination of countries provides a distribution of statistics from historically safe countries and historically dangerous ones along with a few middle-of-the-pack nations. Q: Why did you limit your analysis to just these countries in a world of 197? A: Because my charts would become too busy and difficult to read and understand. I can’t survey the entire world, as much as I want to. Simple is better. KISS = Keep It Simple & Straightforward.