What share of murders are committed with a gun?
Using for each country the latest year both sources share if it is 2018 or later, and otherwise each source's own latest year, police records compiled by UNODC give a firearm share of homicide victims for 91 countries and territories, from 0.0% (in 4 of them) to 89.6% (Puerto Rico) and above half in 29, while WHO death registrations give one for 104, from 0.0% (in 4 of them) to 92.4% (Puerto Rico) and above half in 34 (leaving out WHO lines where coding makes the firearm split unusable); where both cover the same year (2018 or later, 58 countries), the two are within 10 percentage points of each other in 47.
% of homicides committed with a gun
Year varies by country (2002–2024) · grey: no figure
United Kingdom: England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland are listed separately. Too small or not separate on this map: French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion. Each colour is one figure per country: one year, not an average, for the year shown in the ranking and when you point at a country.With "How sure" on, hatching marks countries whose latest figure has a trust score below 60 (Low or Very low).
All countries
Each source's value links to its publisher; point at it for the source and year. A value in brackets is shown but doesn't count, and pointing at it says why. Retrieved 2026-10-25.
About this data
Every source on this page (2)
Who is behind the sources
- 100% International body
Each publisher, its funding and its own description
- UNODC · International bodyFunding: Mostly voluntary contributions from member states, multilateral organisations and private donors. sourceIn its own words: “The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) advances justice and security around the globe…” source, retrieved 2026-10-27
- World Health Organization (WHO) · International bodyFunding: Assessed contributions (membership dues) from member states, plus voluntary contributions from member states and other partners. sourceIn its own words: “…WHO is the United Nations agency that connects nations, partners and people to promote health…” source, retrieved 2026-10-27
- WHO Mortality Database, deaths by assault with a firearmUsed for 108 countries; counts toward 104. Years 2002 to 2024. Retrieved 2026-10-25.Not counted where: it measures something else.Open the publisher's page
- UNODC Data Portal, victims of intentional homicide by mechanismUsed for 91 countries; counts toward 90. Years 2011 to 2024. Retrieved 2026-10-25.Not counted where: it republishes WHO.Open the publisher's pageData (Excel file)
Why the numbers differ (5)
- UNODC compiles police and criminal justice records of intentional homicide by mechanism, while the WHO Mortality Database counts death certificates coded as assault by firearm discharge (ICD-10 X93-X95) out of all assault deaths (X85-Y09).
- The share depends on how many killings have no recorded mechanism. UNODC "unspecified means" and WHO code Y09 (assault by unspecified means) stay in the denominator, so where they are large the share is a lower bound and the two sources can differ for that reason alone.
- UNODC splits "firearms or explosives" into firearms and other parts for most countries; where only the combined count exists, the page uses it and marks the line as not exactly the defined number.
- Deaths from firearm discharge of undetermined intent (ICD-10 Y22-Y24) are not counted as assault in death records, though police may record some of them as homicides.
- Police counts can include victims who died abroad or cases later reclassified, and death records follow the place of registration, so the two counts of victims are not the same set of people.
Common mistakes (2)
- The share of homicides committed with a gun is not the same as the share of gun deaths that are homicides. In many countries most firearm deaths are suicides, which this page does not count.
- A high share does not by itself mean a high homicide rate: a country with few homicides can have a high firearm share, and the reverse. See the homicide rate page for the level.
Context (3)
- UNODC metadata for the intentional homicide data, including the ICCS mechanism categories. Retrieved 2026-10-25.
- SAMRC 2nd Injury Mortality Survey: how Statistics South Africa codes injury deaths of unknown intent, and the effect on gunshot deaths (printed page 49). Retrieved 2026-10-26.
- WHO rating of death registration completeness and usability by country. Retrieved 2026-10-25.
Sources considered and not used (6)
- Country-years with fewer than 20 homicides: With under 20 victims (UNODC total) or assault deaths (WHO), one case moves the share by five percentage points or more, so those years are left out of both the table and the charts. (source, retrieved 2026-10-25)
- UNODC country-years with more firearm victims than total victims: Some older UNODC rows (for example Panama before 2011) give a firearm count above the total; a share above the whole is not usable, so those years are skipped. (source, retrieved 2026-10-25)
- WHO Mortality Database, condensed list years: Years a country reports only Tabulation List 1 or a special list give one assault total with no firearm split, so they have no WHO share. (source, retrieved 2026-10-25)
- WHO Mortality Database, United Kingdom total: UNODC reports England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland separately, so the page shows those three jurisdictions from both sources instead of a UK total.
- UNODC, Central Iraq and Kurdistan Region rows: Sub-national parts of Iraq; the national Iraq series is used instead.
- IHME Global Burden of Disease (firearm homicide estimates): The GBD Results tool asks users to register and sign in before downloading estimates (checked 25 October 2026), so no values were taken from it.
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- Cite as: RealStats, “What share of murders are committed with a gun?”, updated 2026-10-27, with the original sources listed on the page. Scores use formula version 1.0.
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