Knowing that the debate on gun control never fails to be interesting, we decided to have some fun and create the list of 8 countries with gun bans and highest crime rates.
Let us face it, every time mass shooting takes place in the United States, the country becomes polarized. While one side of the US population calls for an immediate ban on guns, elaborating on how this and that mass shooting could have been avoided had that same ban on guns been imposed earlier, the other side tries to convince the rest that no change in legislation should take place as it would have no impact whatsoever on crime rates. The fact is that if you are intent on defending either side of the argument, you will find strong evidence supporting your statements. The statistical data on the level of crime in the context of gun legislation in place can be interpreted in different ways depending on a given country.
![8 Countries with Gun Bans and Highest Crime Rates](https://imonkey-blog.imgix.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/23174500/shutterstock_561522913-750x500.jpg?auto=fortmat&fit=clip&expires=1755993600&width=480&height=320)
Kiselev Andrey Valerevich/Shutterstock.com
When I think about it, I focus on the very nature of human being. I do not believe that guns per se are the problem. However, people are. Regardless of the legal provisions authorities put in place, people who are intent on hurting others, be it by committing mass shootings, bombing a place or sitting behind a wheel while driving fast through a crowded street, will do so. Those who have succumbed to the dark nature of human spirit will find means to put their ideas into practice, even if there are legal obstacles to doing so. The same applies to gun control. Even if the US government decided to introduce the gun ban, crime rates would not significantly drop as this would not mean that criminal minds are off the streets. The only thing it would do is make it a bit more difficult for them to access guns. Ultimately, gun crime is the symptom and not the cause. If I must choose, I would rather be permitted to own a gun, so I, the good girl that I am, can defend myself from the bad guys and girls.
Insider Monkey has already published an article on 12 Countries with No Gun Laws and Low Crime Rates in the World, where we established that Finland is among countries with no gun control while at the same time, it is one of the countries with the lowest crime rates in the world. This time, we focus on countries with gun bans and their crime rates which are among the highest in the world.
In our article on 11 Countries with the Best Gun Laws in the World, we pointed out that Pakistan, Italy, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and the United States are some of the best countries for gun owners, with the United States being placed at the top of our list. These countries have gun laws that would suit any gun owner. On the other hand, if you are passionate about guns, you might also want to check out the list of countries that have banned guns, as these are the places you certainly would want to avoid. When writing about countries with the strictest gun laws in the world, we did a thorough analysis of gun legislation, selecting the worst from the list of countries with gun control. Japan was placed at the top of our list as the country where the controversy surrounding gun possession goes so far as to be considered taboo. It was followed by South Korea, Netherlands, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
To see which countries with gun bans and highest crime rates are, I cross-referenced the data with regards to gun laws and the data on crime rates. If you want to know the answer to the most popular question in the debate, does gun control reduce crime, this article might give you some ideas. The countries on our list did not introduce a complete ban on guns. However, they have very restrictive gun laws. Some of them have introduced these laws hoping that it would help reduce violence. However, their crime rates remained very high. Gun Policy is the site I referred to in order to get the data on firearms legislation. The site offers an overview of policies related to guns worldwide. To see which countries have the highest crime rates, I referred to the data provided by OECD better life index and Numbeo. I have also taken into account the data provided by the Igarape Institute, which offers the data on homicide rates worldwide.