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The Number of Private Firearms in Austria Rose Again in 2018

Zahl der privaten Schusswaffen in Österreich 2018 erneut gestiegen

Salzburger Nachrichten

6 May 2019

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The number of privately owned firearms increased in Austria in 2018, but to a lesser extent than recently. As of January 1, 2019, 1,056,203 private firearms were registered, an increase of 3.2 percent within the year. Until May 1, the possession continued to increase steadily - to 1,068,582 firearms, the Ministry of the Interior told APA on request.

In 2018, the increase was uniform through all provinces and mainly in categories B (handguns/pistols, semi-automatic firearms and repeating shotguns) and category C (rifles), the Kleine Zeitung reported, based on Interior Minister Herbert Kickl's (FPÖ) response to a question from Green federal councilors.

According to the Central Weapons Register, most gun owners live in Lower Austria (January 1: 80,246, May 1: 80,870), Upper Austria (53,035, 53,345) and Styria (50,872, 51,173).

Vienna ranks fourth with 35,750 gun owners (May 1: 35,909). Of the 1,056,203 (last 1,068,582) registered weapons, 294,137 (297,778) were found in Lower Austria, 183,970 (186,025) in Upper Austria, 165,091 (166,916) in Styria and 104,238 (105,156) in Vienna.

A total of 308,350 people were considered registered owners as of January 1, up 2.3 percent from 2018 (301,420), and the latest count was then already 310,352 gun owners.

At the beginning of the year, 199,834 gun ownership cards were issued, as well as 74,527 gun passes. There were 75,526 upright weapons bans at that time, most of them in the federal capital: 27,141 men and 3,592 women had been banned from weapons ownership by the Viennese authorities.

In a year-on-year comparison from the beginning of December 2016 to December 2017, there were still 4.2 percent more registered weapons. At the time, the million mark in legal firearms was also surpassed in the spring, and the number of gun owners broke through the 300,000 mark.

Gun owners in Austria

As of early 2019 - total 308,350
Niederosterreich/ Lower Austria: 80,246
Oberosterreich/ Upper Austria: 53,035
Steiermark/ Styria: 50,872
Wien/ Vienna: 35,750
Karnten/ Carinthia - 23,764
Tirol/ Tyrol - 22,251
Salzburg: 18,098
Burgenland: 15,009
Vorarlberg: 9,055

Comparison with beginning of 2018
Gun owners (+2.3%)
2018 - 301.420
2019 - 308,350
Number of weapons(+3.2%)
2018: 1,023,037
2019: 1,056,203

ID: N766

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