Three Caribbean countries now make up the top ten list of nations with the most gun deaths per 100,000 people, from firearms globally while four others rank in the top 20.
That’s according to data compiled by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation for the study, entitled “Global Mortality From Firearms, 1990-2016.”
The new study exposes trends in fatal shootings, particularly in deaths from homicides, suicides and accidental injuries combined.
For the Caribbean, the U.S. Virgin Islands leads the region followed by Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
The U.S.V.I. ranked at seventh globally with nearly 22 residents in every 100,000 people, on an island of 102,951, dying by gun deaths in 2016.
Jamaica came in at ninth globally with 18 Jamaicans in every 100,000 nationals in a country of 2.8 million dying by gun deaths in 2016.
Puerto Rico rounded out the top 10 with 17 people in every 100,000 residents on a territory of 3 million dying by guns in 2016.
Meanwhile, Belize came in at 12th globally with about 14 per every 100,000 persons in the country of 366,954 people while the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was 14th with about 13 deaths per every 100,000 people in a country with 1.3 million people. Guyana ranked at 18th globally with about 11 deaths per every 100,000 residents in a country of 782,225 people while the Dominican Republic ranked at 19th globally with 10 deaths per every 100,000 in a nation of 10.8 million.
Meanwhile, the US and five Latin American countries topped the top six countries for gun deaths globally. El Salvador had the highest global gun death rate, nearly 40 per 100,000 people. The other countries in the Americas accounting for half of all firearm-related deaths in 2016 are Brazil (43,200 deaths), the United States (37,200), Mexico (15,400), Colombia (13,300), Venezuela (12,800), and Guatemala (5,090).
Globally, the study showed that guns are responsible for about 250,000 deaths worldwide every year. Singapore had the lowest, with 0.1 death per 100,000.
“This study confirms what many have been claiming for years – that gun violence is one of the greatest public health crises of our time,” Mohsen Naghavi, a professor in global health at the University of Washington and the study’s first author, said in an accompanying statement. “There are no simple antidotes to address this health problem. The tragedy of each firearm-related death will continue until reasonable and reasoned leaders come together to address the issue.”