Outside of disease, firearms are the second-largest cause of death worldwide after road accidents. How many people die from gun violence? There were a little over a quarter million deaths caused by guns globally in 2016, the last year for which figures from most countries are available. These latest gun violence statistics cover a wide range of aspects related to firearm-related deaths in the world in general and in the US in particular.
Before we continue, what is gun violence? It refers to death or injury caused by the use of firearms and includes homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, suicide, and attempted suicides, as well as non-criminal violence like accidental death or injury.
These gun violence statistics show that the issue of gun violence is not uniformly critical everywhere in the world. They also show that in most countries that top the list of firearm-related deaths, what causes gun violence—the social, economic, and political environment—is different from the reasons for it in the US.
In the US, despite a functioning criminal justice system and most socio-economic metrics being comparable with the best in the world, the rate of gun-related homicides and suicides is abnormally high. These statistics, therefore, begin with a wider coverage of gun violence statistics worldwide, but then look at the conditions in the US that make gun violence and gun control such a hot topic of debate. This includes data related to gun ownership in the country as well as some aspects of gun control, an issue that is seeing increasing support even from some unlikely quarters.
We are sure these statistics will help you gain a clearer understanding of the seriousness of the problem and develop a more informed viewpoint on an important and often divisive political issue.