These 6 Countries Produced Half of World's Gun Deaths

The US is in second place for total gun deaths
By Luke Roney,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 29, 2018 4:28 PM CDT
US Comes in Second for Total Gun Deaths
Handguns are displayed at a 2016 trade show in Las Vegas.   (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

The US had more than 37,000 gun-related deaths in 2016, putting it in second place for total firearm deaths in the world that year, PBS reports. Around the world, there were more than a quarter-million gun deaths in 2016, and the study finds that just six countries in the Americas were responsible for half of those deaths. "This study confirms what many have been claiming for years—that gun violence is one of the greatest public health crises of our time," says Mohsen Naghavi of the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which released the new numbers this week. Researchers looked at data from some 2,900 sources for about 195 nations and territories to compile their report. Deaths from conflict, terrorism, executions, and police shootings were not included. Read on for the top 10 nations for total gun deaths, with the aforementioned six in bold:

  1. Brazil, 43,200
  2. United States, 37,200
  3. India, 26,500
  4. Mexico, 15,400
  5. Colombia, 13,300
  6. Venezuela, 12,800
  7. Philippines, 8,020
  8. Guatemala, 5,090
  9. Russian Federation, 4,380
  10. Afghanistan, 4,050
See the top 20, including numbers for per capita firearm deaths (in that ranking, the US drops to the 20th spot), here. (More gun violence stories.)

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