Edged Weapon, Firearm Injuries & Deaths: A Comparative Look

garzaj25
Dec 23, 2025
4 min read

Updated: Dec 24, 2025

Injuries from violent acts, whether by sharp instruments like knives or by firearms, are a major global public health issue. While overall violence accounts for millions of deaths annually, the modes by which those deaths occur vary widely around the world.

Firearm Injuries & Deaths: The Global Toll

Global Summary

Firearm mortality has shown little decline over recent decades and remains a major source of fatal violence

Estimated global firearm deaths (all causes) ≈ ~250,000 people per year.
Of these:
- ~64% are homicides,
- ~27% suicides,
- ~9% unintentional deaths.

Top 5 Countries by Firearm Death Burden (Absolute Numbers)

These countries contribute disproportionately to global firearm deaths:

Brazil – highest number of firearm deaths.
United States – second highest total.
Venezuela – high violence context.
Mexico – affected by organized crime violence.
Colombia – ongoing violent crime impact.

Note: These are absolute counts, not per capita rates. In per capita terms, countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, and Venezuela have historically had higher firearm homicide rates than most of the world.

Knife Injuries & Deaths: The Global Picture

Estimates and Patterns

Knives and sharp objects are a common method in homicide worldwide, accounting for roughly 22% of homicides globally.
Many regions with lower access to firearms show a higher proportion of murders committed with knives.
Knife injuries (non-fatal) contribute millions of hospital visits annually.

Note: Availability of knife injury and death data are less centralized than firearm statistics.

Top 5 Countries by Stabbing Mortality Rate (per 100,000)

Based on the best available data of stabbing rates:

South Africa – highest stabbing death rates.
Lesotho – very high rates.
Eswatini – high lethality in sharp-weapon homicides.
Botswana – elevated rates.
Namibia – continues high rates.

Note: These rankings are rate per population rather than absolute counts, smaller nations with high incidence can rank highly.

Behavioral & Social Risk Factors

Understanding why these violent events occur helps with prevention. Although the specific pathways differ across contexts, there are shared behavioral indicators as well as weapon-specific correlates.

Firearm Violence: Common Behavioral Indicators

Research highlights several risk factors associated with firearm injuries:

Individual & Social Behavior

Exposure to community violence and normalization of retaliation.
Delinquent peer networks and criminal involvement increase risk.
Youth involvement in gangs/drug markets correlates with firearm carrying and assaults.
Mental health stressors (especially for suicide risk) when coupled with firearm access.

Environmental & Structural Indicators

Neighborhood disadvantage, high poverty and poor policing.
High firearm prevalence in community or household.
Concentrated hotspots where violence tends to be most prolific.

Knife Violence: Common Behavioral Indicators

Knife violence shares some risk factors with firearm violence but also has distinct patterns:

Individual & Social Behavior

Youth males (teens to early 20s) are disproportionately represented among victims and perpetrators in many regions.
Substance use (e.g., alcohol) around disputes can escalate conflict to violence. (General criminology research shows this pattern, though data vary by region).
Gang affiliation or involvement in street violence increases risk of using readily accessible sharp tools. (Observed in localized studies.)

Accessibility & Context

Ease of access: knives and sharp instruments are ubiquitous household tools and don’t require formal purchase.
In regions with strict firearm controls, knives often become the weapon of choice.
Domestic violence contexts: knives appear more frequently due to intimate partner proximity.

Note: Availability of knife injury and death data are less centralized than firearm statistics.

Key Takeaways

Firearms Violence

Cause a higher total number of global deaths annually compared to knife-related homicides.
Deaths are concentrated in specific countries with violence or high firearm prevalence.
Behavioral risks include community violence exposure, criminal networks, and access prevalence.

Knife Violence

Accounts for a significant share of homicides, especially where guns are less common.
Some African nations exhibit particularly high stabbing death rates.
Risk patterns include youth violence, alcohol use, and contextual conflict dynamics.

The Bottom Line

Why a Behavioral Approach to Violence Prevention Matters:

Comparing global firearm and stabbing injuries reveals an important truth: the weapon used is often a symptom, not the cause, of violence. While firearms result in higher overall lethality and account for more deaths globally, knife violence remains prevalent, particularly in regions with limited firearm access. This pattern underscores a critical lesson for prevention efforts worldwide: when access to one weapon is restricted, violence does not disappear; it often shifts form.

A behavioral approach to violence prevention moves beyond reactive, weapon-specific solutions and focuses instead on identifying, interrupting, and mitigating pathways to violence before harm occurs. Research consistently shows that acts of violence, whether involving guns or knives, are frequently preceded by observable behaviors, stressors, and warning signs, rather than occurring impulsively or without context.

Key Behavioral Insights Across Both Firearm and Knife Violence

Across regions and weapon types, violence is often associated with:

Escalating grievances, interpersonal conflicts, or perceived injustices
Substance misuse, particularly alcohol, that lowers inhibition and increases impulsivity
Social isolation, marginalization, or exposure to chronic community violence
Prior threats, fixation on violence, or leakage of intent to peers or online spaces
Lack of access to early support systems, conflict mediation, or mental health resources

These indicators are behavioral signals, not diagnostic labels, and they are frequently visible to families, schools, workplaces, courts, healthcare providers, and community leaders long before an incident occurs.

Shifting from Weapon Control to Violence Prevention

Effective prevention strategies recognize that people engage in violence, not weapons. A behavioral prevention framework emphasizes:

Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM): Multidisciplinary teams that identify concerning behaviors early and coordinate appropriate, supportive interventions
Early intervention and diversion: Addressing risk factors such as substance use, trauma, and social instability before conflicts escalate
Community-based prevention: Strengthening social cohesion, conflict resolution skills, and trusted reporting pathways
Post-incident intervention and reentry supports: Reducing retaliation and recurrence by addressing root causes rather than relying solely on punishment
Importantly, these strategies are weapon-agnostic. Whether violence manifests through firearms, knives, or other means, behavioral prevention targets the underlying drivers that make violence possible in the first place.

A Global Imperative

The comparison between firearm and stabbing violence makes clear that no single policy lever will eliminate harm. Sustainable reductions in violence require behavior-focused, evidence-based prevention strategies that operate across systems, public health, education, justice, and community services.

By investing in behavioral based approach to violence prevention, indicators, early warning systems, and coordinated intervention, communities can move from reacting to violent outcomes to preventing violence before it occurs, regardless of the weapon involved.