There are nations with deep-rooted gun traditions. And others with exceedingly strict gun controls. The disparity is striking.
Even more shocking is that some societies have more guns than people, according to the Small Arms Survey, a research group attached to the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Switzerland, that collects data on these kinds of weapons.
America, with its unmatched fascination for firearms, might remain on the top of this list till the end of time unless some earth-shaking political changes occur. The US sadly boasts a staggering figure of more than 120 weapons per 100 citizens. Guns outnumber the nation’s population!
War-torn yet heavily armed, Yemen owns 52.8 guns per 100 people. Were the excessive arms responsible for years of wars or vice versa?
Guns are part of the nation's culture and at one time, ie in 1910 under King Nicholas, it was required for every Montenegrin to own a gun. Later when wars ravaged this region, guns flowed in. Today there are 39.1 guns per 100 people.
This nation, once part of the former Yugoslavia, has racked up approximately 2.7 million civilian-owned guns for a population of nearly 6.9 million (as per 2017), translating to about 39.1 firearms per hundred citizens.
Across the border from the US, Canada does not have that proud a record either. Around 12.7 million privately-owned guns exist for a population of about 36.6 million, (as per 2017). That's nearly 34.7 firearms for every hundred Canadians.
The country in South America with the most guns, it is also a crime-free, rather safe country. Gun stats: 34.7 guns per 100 Uruguayans.
34.7 Cypriots in 100 have their own personal revolver/gun, but it is a highly-regulated situation and crime is low.
Surprisingly weapon ownership in Finland is rather high -- roughly 1.79 million personal weapons among a populace of about 5.5 million (as of 2017) or nearly 32.4 guns for every hundred inhabitants. In spite of that the country is known for remarkably low crime figures, probably due its excellent administration.
In our country there are fractional 5.3 guns per 100 people, some of the lowest rates in the world. We balance a cultural reverence for traditional weapons (swords, kirpans) with some of the world’s strictest gun laws.