Almost 1.5 Million Guns Enter the US From This Country

Guns and Hunting

Published: July 24, 2024 10:00 am

In a country where the average is 120.5 guns per 100 people, it may not be a surprise that the US also has the biggest firearm manufacturers worldwide. American citizens own 393.3 million of the 857 million (46%) civilian-use firearms around the world. Companies like Ruger Co., Smith & Wesson, Winchester, and Colt are just some of the gun companies in the United States.

America’s $32.1 billion a year arms and ammunition industry may not be large enough to meet consumer demand. The US imported over 6.8 million guns in 2020, up 71% from the previous year and by far the most ever recorded. Handguns were the largest share of all US imports of firearms in 2020 – nearly 60%. Shotguns were the second largest category, accounting for about 28% of all firearm imports, followed by rifles, which made up just under 13% of all imports.

24/7 Wall St. was able to identify what countries the most guns in America come from by using data from the 2021 edition of Firearms Commerce in the United States, a report published by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. We ranked countries by the number of handguns, rifles, and shotguns imported into the United States in 2020.

Why Does This Matter?

Although this list includes some Asian and South American countries, the vast majority of countries are in Europe. Many of the weapons that are familiar to American gun enthusiasts and sportsmen come from these nations, including Beretta, which is headquartered in Italy (No. 6 on the list); Glock, headquartered in Austria (No. 2); and Taurus, headquartered in Brazil (No. 3).

The most guns in America come from this country.

32. France

Firearms imported into the US, 2020: 1,425 (0.02% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 1,042 (0.03% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 321 (0.04% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 62 (0.00% of all imported shotguns)

31. Russia

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 1,595 (0.02% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: None
Rifles imported: 1,595 (0.18% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: None

30. Hungary

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 2,029 (0.03% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 1,154 (0.03% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 875 (0.10% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: None

29. Georgia

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 2,108 (0.03% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 608 (0.02% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 1,500 (0.17% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: None

28. Slovakia

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 2,987 (0.04% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 2,987 (0.07% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: None
Shotguns imported: None

27. Taiwan

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 3,140 (0.05% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: None
Rifles imported: 3,140 (0.36% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: None

26. Montenegro

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 3,639 (0.05% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 3,639 (0.09% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: None
Shotguns imported: None

25. Slovenia

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 4,902 (0.07% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 4,902 (0.12% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: None
Shotguns imported: None

24. Poland

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 18,577 (0.27% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 10,286 (0.26% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 8,291 (0.95% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: None

23. United Kingdom

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 20,494 (0.30% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 65 (0.00% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 11,937 (1.36% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 8,492 (0.44% of all imported shotguns)

22. Bulgaria

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 20,671 (0.30% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 6,937 (0.17% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 13,733 (1.57% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 01 (0.00% of all imported shotguns)

21. Switzerland

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 21,368 (0.31% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 17,943 (0.45% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 3,390 (0.39% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 35 (0.00% of all imported shotguns)

20. Belgium

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 23,865 (0.35% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 14,120 (0.35% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 9,533 (1.09% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 212 (0.01% of all imported shotguns)

19. Argentina

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 29,030 (0.42% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 29,030 (0.72% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: None
Shotguns imported: None

18. Portugal

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 34,648 (0.51% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: None
Rifles imported: 34,576 (3.95% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 72 (0.00% of all imported shotguns)

17. Romania

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 38,056 (0.56% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 22,145 (0.55% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 15,911 (1.82% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: None

16. Finland

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 46,546 (0.68% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 08 (0.00% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 46,506 (5.31% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 32 (0.00% of all imported shotguns)

15. Serbia

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 46,799 (0.69% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 22,703 (0.56% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 24,096 (2.75% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: None

14. Israel

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 56,893 (0.83% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 41,357 (1.03% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 7,839 (0.90% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 7,697 (0.40% of all imported shotguns)

13. Spain

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 58,981 (0.86% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 960 (0.02% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 57,506 (6.57% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 515 (0.03% of all imported shotguns)

12. Japan

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 78,869 (1.15% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: None
Rifles imported: 78,249 (8.94% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 620 (0.03% of all imported shotguns)

11. Philippines

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 117,217 (1.72% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 113,399 (2.81% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 3,818 (0.44% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: None

10. China

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 217,462 (3.18% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: None
Rifles imported: 12,000 (1.37% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 205,462 (10.67% of all imported shotguns)

9. Canada

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 236,427 (3.46% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 3,050 (0.08% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 232,395 (26.55% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 982 (0.05% of all imported shotguns)

8. Czech Republic

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 275,943 (4.04% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 247,491 (6.14% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 28,418 (3.25% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 34 (0.00% of all imported shotguns)

7. Germany

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 350,291 (5.13% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 274,799 (6.82% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 73,118 (8.35% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 2,374 (0.12% of all imported shotguns)

6. Italy

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 371,088 (5.43% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 146,565 (3.64% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 48,705 (5.57% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 175,818 (9.13% of all imported shotguns)

5. Sweden

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 431,787 (6.32% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 45 (0.00% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 1,680 (0.19% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 430,062 (22.34% of all imported shotguns)

4. Croatia

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 521,932 (7.64% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 521,932 (12.95% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: None
Shotguns imported: None

3. Brazil

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 1,016,630 (14.88% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 849,700 (21.08% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 120,864 (13.81% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 46,066 (2.39% of all imported shotguns)

2. Austria

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 1,284,785 (18.81% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 1,279,123 (31.73% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 5,632 (0.64% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 30 (0.00% of all imported shotguns)

1. Turkey

Firearms imported into the US in 2020: 1,490,251 (21.81% of all imported firearms)
Handguns imported: 415,180 (10.30% of all imported handguns)
Rifles imported: 29,450 (3.37% of all imported rifles)
Shotguns imported: 1,045,621 (54.32% of all imported shotguns)

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Read more: Guns and Hunting, arms dealers, ATF, austria, Brazil, firearms, gun imports, gun sales, guns, Turkey

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