The irony is that some of them have very high levels of firearm ownership

What makes a society virtually immune to gun violence? If high-violence hotspots are defined by a breakdown in state capacity, the world’s safest nations present a fascinating paradox.

Some of them achieve near-zero gun-crime by banning civilian firearms entirely, while others feature high gun-ownership with safe, peaceful streets.

According to crime data on intentional, interpersonal homicides (strictly excluding suicides) from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Our World in Data, the following five nations consistently rank as the safest places on earth.

1. SINGAPORE: The zero-tolerance state

• The daily toll: Effectively 0 deaths per day (with 0.00 per-capita rate gun homicides per 100 000 people in almost all calendar years).
• A major reason: Total legal and cultural intolerance for firearms, backed by swift, unyielding state execution.
• The hard reality: Even carrying a firearm without authorisation carries a mandatory prison sentence and caning. Under the Arms Offences Act, if an illegal firearm is used during a crime, the offender faces a mandatory death penalty. Crucially, the law assumes any accomplice present at the scene is equally guilty and faces the same execution.

2. JAPAN: The unfired bullet

• The daily toll: Virtually 0 deaths per day (averaging fewer than 10 gun homicides per year across a massive population of 124 million people).
• A major reason: A cultural intolerance for firearms, backed by a rigorous, months-long licensing process designed to actively discourage civilian ownership.
• The hard reality: To buy a gun in Japan, citizens must attend an all-day class, pass a written exam, hit a 95% accuracy target on a shooting range, and undergo deep mental-health and substance-abuse checks. The police have a legal mandate to interview the applicant’s neighbours, family members and even workplace colleagues to ensure they have an exceptionally stable temperament.

3. SWITZERLAND: The armed peace

• The daily toll: Effectively 0 deaths per day (maintaining an exceptionally low per-capita rate of roughly 0.2 gun homicides per 100 000 people).
• A major reason: High social trust and a historic national defence culture where firearms are viewed as a patriotic, civic duty rather than a tool for individual rebellion.
• The hard reality: Switzerland has one of the highest gun-ownership rates in the world due to its mandatory military militia system, which allows citizens to keep their service weapons at home. However, to prevent spontaneous violence, the government generally stores and tracks all military-issued combat ammunition centrally.

4. ICELAND: The unlocked door

• The daily toll: Effectively 0 deaths per day (recording long stretches of zero firearm homicides for years at a time).
• A major reason: Extreme social cohesion, minimal socio-economic inequality, and an almost complete absence of a criminal underclass.
• The hard reality: Roughly one-third of Iceland’s population is armed, primarily with shotguns and rifles for hunting. Yet, regular police officers patrol the streets unarmed, carrying only batons and pepper spray. The nation’s single specialised, armed tactical unit is rarely ever deployed.

5. OMAN: The Middle Eastern exception

• The daily toll: Effectively 0 deaths per day (ranking consistently among the lowest homicide rates in the world).
• A major reason: A deeply entrenched traditional tribal culture that emphasises community mediation and respect for central authority.
• The fascinating reality: While Oman allows civilian firearm ownership for traditional hunting and heritage, the country experiences almost zero gun-crime. Disputes are traditionally settled through a powerful, formalised local mediation system (Sabla) overseen by tribal elders and regional governors, which successfully de-escalates personal conflicts before they can turn violent.
  
  
  

Conclusion

Singapore and Japan achieve safety because of their collectivist culture, backed by unyielding prohibition and severe penalties. Conversely, Switzerland and Iceland, both highly cohesive, duty-bound cultures, achieve the exact same level of safety with a heavily armed population. It appears to be a paradox that goes beyond the mere presence or absence of firearms.