Gun deaths among children nearly doubled over the last decade
By According to an analysis published on Thursday, the rate of firearm fatalities among children under 18 increased by 87 percent from 2011 through 2021 in the United States. The death rate attributable to car accidents fell by almost half, leaving firearm injuries the top cause of accidental death in children.
The finding underscores additional data showing that firearm injuries are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 20, after excluding deaths of infants born prematurely or with congenital abnormalities.
Some 2,590 children and teenagers under the age of 18 died of firearm injuries in 2021, up from 1,311 in 2011, according to the study, which was published in the journal Pediatrics. In other industrialized countries, guns are not even among the top three causes of death for children.
There are many countries that would still have a lower rate of firearm fatalities than the US even if you were only to count firearm fatalities in the US among children.
Examples:
Netherlands: 85 firearm deaths in most recent year
Spain: 303 firearm deaths
Poland: 112 firearm deaths
South Korea: 44 firearm deaths
The US is currently experiencing about 45,000 firearm deaths per year.