In per capita civilian firearms ownership, that is. According to this Reuters story, the United States is "the most heavily armed society in the world."
U.S. citizens own 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms, according to the Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies.
About 4.5 million of the 8 million new guns manufactured worldwide each year are purchased in the United States, it said.
"There is roughly one firearm for every seven people worldwide. Without the United States, though, this drops to about one firearm per 10 people," it said.
That's right - U.S. firearms owners do more to combat worldwide poverty among small arms manufacturers than any other citizenry on earth.
On a per-capita basis, Yemen had the second most heavily armed citizenry behind the United States, with 61 guns per 100 people, followed by Finland with 56, Switzerland with 46, Iraq with 39 and Serbia with 38.
And we totally smoked Yemen. They should keep that in mind the next time one of our naval vessels makes a port call in Aden.
France, Canada, Sweden, Austria and Germany were next, each with about 30 guns per 100 people, while many poorer countries often associated with violence ranked much lower. Nigeria, for instance, had just one gun per 100 people.
The wording there makes me think France may be more heavily armed than Canada, which would be surprising. Then again...
Only about 12 percent of civilian weapons are thought to be registered with authorities.
And all those who opted not to participate in Canada's famously stupid and ineffective registration may have been a little hesitant to check the yes box on this particular survery.
Intriguing little read, and you all know I love to share news that points out what a wonderful country we live in.
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