The Disturbing Gun Violence Facts & Statistics in the US

Gun control and ownership are debate subjects on the news and in society regularly. Despite the fact, that everyone has a different opinion on solving the problem of gun violence, everyone wants one thing; a country that is safe for everyone.

It might come as a surprise to learn that Americans own more than half the world’s civilian guns. Accordingly, gun violence in the United States is way out of proportion to other countries and impacts the lives of thousands each year. To put perspective on that figure, America has a share of about 5% of the total world population, and yet we own about 42% of all the guns in the world.

Compared to other countries, gun-related murders are 25% more prevalent in America than other nations. America incurs six times more homicides than Canada and seven times the murders than Sweden.

Most of the gun violence that occur in the U.S. takes place in low-income, cities, and areas where gangs are living. Young males are the majority of the perpetrators of gun violence. Although mass shootings also weigh into the equation, they are a small fraction of the problem and account for less than 2% of the gun-related deaths in America.