Thailand tops ASEAN in estimated civilian gun ownership

Thailand’s high estimated level of civilian firearm ownership has returned to public attention following two school shootings this year, including the deadly attack at Debsirin Nonthaburi School on August 7 that prompted the government to promise tighter firearm controls.

The latest comprehensive international estimate from Small Arms Survey put the number of firearms in civilian hands in Thailand at 10.342 million in 2017, equivalent to 15.1 firearms for every 100 people. That was the highest estimated rate among ASEAN countries in the dataset.

Of Thailand’s estimated total, 6,221,180 firearms were listed as registered and 4,120,820 as unregistered. The figures were calculated against a 2017 population of 68.298 million and were based on expert estimates rather than a comprehensive physical count.

The data require an important qualification: they do not represent firearm ownership in Thailand in 2026. Small Arms Survey’s global holdings database continues to identify the figures as estimates for 2017, when it calculated that civilians held about 857 million, or 85%, of the more than one billion firearms in circulation worldwide.

World Population Review’s current gun-ownership table also lists Thailand at 15.1 civilian firearms per 100 people and around 10.3 million firearms in total, but its table identifies both figures as 2017 data derived from the Small Arms Survey.

Thailand stands well above ASEAN peers

Thailand’s estimated rate was more than three times that of Cambodia, which stood at 4.5 civilian firearms per 100 people in the same dataset.

The Philippines was estimated at 3.6 firearms per 100 people and Laos at 3.0. Myanmar and Vietnam were both at 1.6, while Brunei stood at 1.4, Malaysia at 0.7 and Singapore and Timor-Leste at 0.3. Indonesia’s estimated rate rounded to 0.0 per 100 people.

The figures measure firearms in civilian possession, not the proportion of people who own guns. A single individual may possess more than one firearm, so a rate of 15.1 firearms per 100 people should not be interpreted as meaning 15.1% of Thailand’s population owns a firearm.

Small Arms Survey also cautions against treating estimates as exact inventories. Its global database draws on government information alongside surveys and expert assessments, while unregistered firearms are inherently harder to quantify.

School attacks bring firearm access back into focus

The older ownership figures have gained fresh relevance after Thailand recorded two shootings at schools within six months.

On August 7, a 14-year-old student carried out an attack that began at his grandparents’ home before continuing at Debsirin Nonthaburi School near Bangkok. Authorities said the firearm involved was legally registered to the teenager’s grandfather.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul subsequently pledged new measures to tighten firearm controls.

The earlier school attack occurred on February 11 at Patongprathankiriwat School in Hat Yai, Songkhla. A 17-year-old entered the school after taking a firearm from a police officer, leaving the school director dead and two other people injured before being taken into custody.

Those incidents followed several other high-profile shootings in Thailand, including the 2022 attack at a childcare centre in Nong Bua Lamphu, the 2023 shooting at a Bangkok shopping centre and a 2025 shooting at a food market in the capital.

The recurrence of such cases does not by itself establish a causal relationship with the country’s estimated firearm ownership rate. However, the latest school shooting has again brought questions over access, licensing and firearm controls into the national debate.