The US has more knife homicide rates than most countries
Executive summary
Available sources show that in the United States most homicides are committed with firearms, not knives: firearms account for roughly 76–80% of U.S. homicides in recent reporting, while knife or sharp‑object deaths number about 1,500 annually (roughly 10% of homicides) [1] [2] [3]. Internationally, the share of homicides committed with knives varies widely by region, and countries with low firearm prevalence often report a higher knife share — but that reflects weapon mix, not necessarily higher overall homicide rates [4].
1. The basic U.S. picture: guns dominate lethal violence
U.S. data repeatedly show firearms are the leading cause of homicide. Statista’s summary of FBI data for 2023 reports 7,159 handguns and thousands more firearms of unspecified type among murder victims, while knives accounted for about 1,562 killings that year — making knives a minority of homicides [1]. Other summaries place firearm involvement near 79–80% of U.S. homicides, underscoring that knives, while serious, are far less common than guns as murder weapons [3].
2. Knife homicides still matter: scale and demographics
Knife or sharp‑object homicides in the U.S. are not rare: academic review finds “more than 1,500 people are murdered with a knife each year in the USA,” and notes knife victims/offenders often differ demographically from firearm cases (older victims, different relationship patterns, higher proportion female victims) [2]. That nuance matters for policy and prevention even if knives are not the leading weapon overall [2].
3. International context: share vs. rate — a crucial distinction
Comparisons that say a country has “more knife homicides” must separate two different measures: the share of homicides committed with knives and the overall homicide rate (per 100,000 people). WorldPopulationReview cites UN reporting showing knives made up about 22% of global homicides in 2017 and notes regional patterns — Europe has a higher knife share and lower gun share, North America the reverse — but also warns that weapon share does not equate to total homicide rate [4]. In short, countries with low gun prevalence may show a larger knife share even while having lower overall homicide levels [4].
4. What the claim “US has more knife homicide rates than most countries” omits
The claim mixes two different comparisons and lacks support in available reporting. Sources show the U.S. records roughly 1,500 knife homicides per year [2] and that knives account for under 20% of North American homicides compared with close to 40% in some European data [4]. International rankings of stabbing‑death rates (per 100,000) point to many countries — primarily in parts of Africa and Latin America — with stabbing mortality rates well above typical U.S. levels, meaning the U.S. does not rank near the top globally on stabbing mortality [5] [4]. Available sources do not state that the U.S. has higher knife‑homicide rates than “most countries” taken globally.
5. Why regional weapon mix differs — policy and availability
Reporting notes a clear relationship between firearm prevalence and overall homicide rates: countries with more guns tend to have higher homicide rates, while those with tighter gun controls often see knives and “other mechanisms” make up a larger share of homicides [4]. That suggests the prevalence of knives as a share is often a symptom of low gun availability rather than uniquely problematic knife violence relative to other countries [4].
6. Limitations, data gaps, and how to interpret numbers
Available U.S. sources give counts and percentages but vary by year and dataset (FBI UCR, CDC, academic studies). Statista and academic reviews provide counts; other outlets report overall homicide rates per 100,000 that fluctuate year to year [1] [2] [3]. International stabbing‑death rankings exist but depend on varied reporting years and definitions; WorldPopulationReview cautions these are weapon‑share statistics not direct homicide‑rate comparisons [4]. Therefore cross‑country comparisons require harmonized homicide‑rate data (not provided in this set) and care to avoid conflating share with absolute rate.
7. Bottom line for readers
If your point is simply that knife homicides are common in the U.S., sources confirm around 1,500 knife murders annually and that knives are the country’s second most common weapon for homicide [2] [1]. If the claim is that the U.S. has higher knife‑homicide rates than most countries, available reporting does not support that formulation: weapon shares and absolute stabbing‑death rates differ regionally, and many countries have higher per‑capita stabbing death rates than the U.S. [4] [5].