REPORT: America Has 10 Times More Guns Than Any Other Country — And the Data Shows Exactly What That Means

WASHINGTON D.C. — The United States contains an estimated 400 million privately-owned firearms — approximately 120 guns per 100 people, more than any other country on Earth by a factor of 10. The country in second place, Yemen (in active civil war), has 52 guns per 100 people. Switzerland, often cited in gun debates, has 27. The data on what this means for American safety is unambiguous, and qivsy is reporting it without political spin.

This is not an ideological article. It is a data article. Americans deserve the facts.

What the Statistics Actually Show

• The U.S. gun homicide rate is 26 times higher than comparable high-income nations (Source: CDC, peer-reviewed journal Annals of Internal Medicine, 2023)
• 45,000 Americans die from gun violence annually — more than car accidents, which kill approximately 42,000
• 54% of gun deaths are suicides — approximately 24,000 Americans kill themselves with guns each year; firearm access increases completed suicide rates by 300%
• Mass shootings (4 or more shot in a single incident) occurred on 648 days of the 365-day year 2023 — meaning multiple mass shootings per day on average
• Gun violence costs the U.S. economy an estimated $557 billion annually in medical costs, criminal justice, lost productivity, and reduced quality of life (Mother Jones / Johns Hopkins analysis)

“I’ve worked in trauma surgery for 22 years. Gun violence is the single most preventable cause of the injuries I treat. I say preventable because the evidence on what reduces it is unambiguous — and none of it is politically possible right now in America.” — Trauma surgeon, Level I trauma center, speaking to qivsy

What the Research Shows Works

A 2024 meta-analysis of firearm research published in JAMA Internal Medicine identifies interventions with statistically significant reductions in gun violence:

• Universal background checks: Associated with 14% reduction in gun homicides in states that implemented them
• Red flag laws: Associated with 7-11% reduction in firearm suicide rates
• Child access prevention laws: Associated with 13% reduction in youth firearm fatalities
• Safe storage requirements: Associated with 32% reduction in child firearm deaths in states with enforcement

What Congress Has Done in 30 Years

One law. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 — the first meaningful federal gun legislation since the Brady Act of 1993. It closed the “boyfriend loophole” for domestic abusers, enhanced background checks for buyers under 21, and funded state crisis intervention programs. Gun homicides fell 6% in the following year.

The gun industry spent $15.6 million lobbying Congress in 2024. The NRA, despite financial and legal turmoil, remains the most effective single-issue lobbying organization in American history.

— Analysis by Jake Morrison, qivsy Senior Political Correspondent, Washington D.C.