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To quell some confusion regarding gun deaths and gun deaths related to crime in the U.S. you have to dig a little more to understand the picture better.

Gun crime in the U.S. is not great, but it is not as bad as it is perceived. This said, I'm in firm agreement that something needs to be done about mass shootings. We have the collective will to do this, yet are constantly stymied by interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, and the NRA (which lobbies against gun related crime/deaths in the U.S. on a continuous basis).

So gun deaths in the U.S. are high...second highest in the world.

1. Brazil — 49,436
2. United States — 37,038
3. Venezuela — 28,515
4. Mexico — 22,116
5. India — 14,710
6. Colombia — 13,169
7. Philippines — 9,267
8. Guatemala — 5,980

However deaths related to gun violence offers a different picture...here are the top 10 countries with the highest number of gun-related homicides per 100,000 (2019 data).

1. El Salvador — 36.78
2. Venezuela — 33.27
3. Guatemala — 29.06
4. Colombia — 26.36
5. Brazil — 21.93
6. Bahamas — 21.52
7. Honduras — 20.15
8. U.S. Virgin Islands — 19.40
9. Puerto Rico — 18.14
10. Mexico — 16.41

Suicide

Bringing in suicide statistics via firearm clarifies this picture even further

Top 10 countries with the highest suicide rate by firearm per 100,000

Greenland — 16.36
United States — 7.12
Uruguay — 4.74
San Marino — 4.08
Montenegro — 3.40
Argentina — 2.67
Finland — 2.66
Monaco — 2.64
France — 2.64
Venezuela — 2.50

The total rate of firearm deaths in the U.S. is 10.89 per 100,000. This means, the total rate of firearm deaths due to violent crime is 3.77 per 100,000 people.

So while mass shootings in the U.S. are a problem, it's not as impactful as the suicide rate by firearm in the country.

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