Nearly 4,000 pistols have been registered privately in Iceland, with there being 70,000 total firearms registered, RÚV reports.
Of all the firearms, shotguns are the most popular as they are used by many farmers across the country.
Only seven guns have been reported as stolen, which is considerably less than in recent years.
The right to bear firearms?
Shooting and gun related sports are popular here in Iceland and have been for some time.
To be able to acquire a firearm in the country, one must have a firearm license, take a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT), fill out many forms and, obviously, follow all laws and regulations.
There is no limit to how many guns one may own.
Guns, guns and more guns.
The latest figures obtained from the National Commissioner of Police state that around 70,000 firearms were registered in the possession of Icelanders.
Of those, just over 39,000 are shotguns, 29,000 of which are rifles and 4,000 are small firearms such as pistols.
Most of the weapons are all owned by farmers.
Of the 70,000 weapons, 1,855 have been disposed of or deactivated.
You’ve been nicked.
The National Commissioner of Police told RÚV that it is difficult to pin down just how many illegal firearms are in circulation across the country.
They can confirm that stolen guns are regularly reported, averaging fifteen per year.
Police firearms are not included in the data.
Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.
You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!