Worldwide civilian ownership of guns is greater than previous estimates suggested, according to the seventh annual Small Arms Survey yearbook. Of the 875 million firearms around the world, 650 million are owned by civilians. This is 200 million more than previously thought, and three times as many as the combined arsenals of the world’s armies and police forces.

The graph above shows the number of guns per 100 people in 30 countries. The highest number is in the US, which has 90 guns per 100 people. This does NOT mean 90% of Americans own a gun: most owners have more than one weapon, and the US firearm stock is concentrated in around 40% of households.

The yearbook contains chapters on a range of other topics including:

• Licensed and Unlicensed Military Production
• Irresponsible Small Arms Transfers
• Transfer Controls in Global Perspective
• Urban Landscapes of Armed Violence
• Conflict and Post-Conflict Bujumbura (Burundi)
• Firearm Violence and Urbanisation In Brazil
• The Economics of Small Arms
• Ammunition Diversion in Uganda and Brazil
• Armed Violence and Insecurity in South Sudan

Sections of the yearbook can be downloaded from the Small Arms Survey website, and the full yearbook can be purchased from Cambridge University Press.