The number of weapons owned in Poland by private persons in 2020 amounted to 587.9 thousand units and has been growing steadily over the past five years.

In this market overview, we present how the Polish market of privately owned weapons looks like today.

According to the data provided by the Polish Police Headquarters, in 2015 there were only 390.8 thousand legally owned weapons in Poland. The willingness of Poles to buy weapons is dictated by the growing wealth of the society and „rebounding the times” when in practice the purchase of weapons was almost impossible in Poland.

The strict criteria introduced in 2011 under the Weapons and Ammunition Act slowed down the trend of purchasing weapons in Poland. This was due to, among other things, the fact that the police had withdrawn the privilege of issuing weapons licenses.

Market segments by categories of weapons usage

The greatest number of weapons in Poland for which the permits are granted are used for sports and collecting purposes. In the sports category, in 2020 this number increased by 13.8 thousand compared to the previous year, and in the case of the collecting category 14.9 thousand weapons were purchased. The number of weapons used for personal protection (where the opinion of the police still plays a large role in the licensing process) has hardly increased during this period compared to previous years.

Weapons permits and registration of the weapons

It is worth noting the difference between issued weapons licenses and the number of registered weapons. At the end of 2020, it was 234.9 thousand pieces, and 5 years earlier 192.8 thousand.

It is also interesting to mention that some people may have more than one weapons license. It is estimated that there are approx. 170,000 private gun owners in Poland what means that there are approx. 3.5 thousand permits for 1000 inhabitants. For example, in the Czech Republic, this number is 30/1000, in Germany 40/1000, and in Switzerland, it is almost 200 permits per 1000 inhabitants.

Author: Dominika Będkowska

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Sources:

Liczba broni w Polsce bije kolejne rekordy (The number of weapons in Poland breaks new records), Wiktor Ferfecki, Rzeczpospolita, www.rp.pl.

Pozwolenia na broń i licencje (Weapons permits and licenses), www.malopolska.policja.gov.pl.

Akty prawne wg haseł: broń, amunicja i materiały wybuchowe (Legal acts according to the slogans: weapons, ammunition, and explosives), www.isap.sejm.gov.pl.