You’ll Be Surprised Which Country Exports the Most Guns to America

America is undoubtedly a gun-loving nation, home to several gun manufacturers like Colt, Smith and Wesson, and Ruger. About 32% of Americans own a gun, primarily for defense purposes, with 44% of U.S. citizens stating they live in a gun-owning household. Furthermore, the U.S. is responsible for providing a large percentage of exported guns to the rest of the world. 

Despite the range of firearms designed and produced in The States, not all of America’s guns are domestically manufactured. For decades, America has relied on the importation of an assortment of guns, including rifles, handguns, and shotguns. Manufacturers from countries like Italy and Austria are particularly known for contributing to America’s gun market.

24/7 Wall St. was able to identify which countries provide the most guns to America by using data from the 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).

Most guns in America come from these countries:

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)