Many people from around the world carry guns for various purposes. The police force is obviously given guns for their duties to protect their territory, city or country.  Civilian gun owners meanwhile have different reasons for owning a gun. Some have guns for self protection while others have them for hunting and related hobbies.  Gun ownership is increasing in many parts of the world despite strict laws and opposition by many people.  The following are some interesting facts about guns:

Fact 1:  There are about 300 million guns in the US alone.  Most of these guns are owned by civilians.  The police force only own about 1 million of these guns.

Fact 2:  The US is considered the gun capital of the world with at least 95$ of new guns going to this country based on a 2010 study.  Gun ownership is also highest in the US and this stands at 88.8 percent.

Fact 3:  With high gun ownership, more than 200 American citizens are shot every single day. This translates to about 10 victims of gun-related crimes for every 100,000 US citizens.

Fact 4:  No background checking is necessary when doing a private purchase of guns in the US. This means that all people regardless of background or purpose can buy a gun in US soil.  This happens despite efforts by the government to be stricter in terms of background checking.

Fact 5:  Support for gun rights in the US is increasing over recent years. Standing at around 52% in present times, support for gun ownership and rights have gradually increased from previous rates of only 45% in 2013.

Fact 6:  It is estimated that women in the US used guns about 200,000 times for a given year just to protect themselves from violence like assault and rape among others.

Fact 7:  Honduras is the country with the highest homicide rate.  They may not have the most guns or as many guns as the US, but this country has recorded the highest homicide rate at 91.6 people per 100,000.

Fact 8:  In the European Union, member countries with low gun ownership had actually registered 3x more murder cases over those that have high gun ownership.

Fact 9:  The law on concealed weapons in the US has been credited to reduce the crime rates to significant levels.  Cases for robberies and murders have significant drops when this law is in effect.

Fact 10:  Almost all public shooting cases in the US happened in cities or counties where guns are either banned or strictly regulated.  This is another similar case of irony in Europe wherein the worst school shootings also happened in areas where there are strict gun laws.

Fact 11:  Russian astronauts are allowed to carry guns in space. The purpose of which is to protect them from bears in case their spaceships will land off-course just in case.

 Fact 12:  Germany produced the largest gun in the world. Called the Gustav gun, it weighs 1300 tons and is able to hit a target that is 23 miles away.