What the Western Balkans Really Thinks About Firearms
How many people in the Western Balkans have ever held a firearm? Would they want to own one? And do they believe more firearms would make their communities safer?
The answers may challenge some assumptions.
UNDP SEESAC has launched the Firearms Demand Study Data Explorer, an interactive platform that brings together findings on how people across the Western Balkans experience, perceive and think about firearms. Designed for policymakers, researchers, journalists and the public, it makes regional survey data accessible, comparable and ready to use.
Understanding why people want firearms is essential to reducing their demand. Effective policies need to address not only the availability of firearms, but also the attitudes, perceptions and circumstances that influence people's decisions to own or use them.
One in three has held a firearm. Most don't want one.
Across the Western Balkans, 35% of respondents have held a firearm at least once, including 26% who have done so several times.
Yet personal experience does not necessarily translate into a desire for ownership. Six in ten respondents (60%) do not personally know anyone who owns a firearm, while 82% of non-owners say they would not want to own one.
More firearms, more crime?
For most respondents, wider access to firearms is associated with greater insecurity rather than protection.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) believe that if everyone had access to firearms, there would be more crime.
Asked what would make them feel safer, respondents most frequently pointed to stricter firearms control regulations (31%), more police or security authorities (27%), and greater public awareness of firearms-related risks (25%).
Only 5% believed that more people owning firearms for self-protection would improve safety.
When is using a firearm acceptable?
The answer changes considerably depending on the circumstances.
More than half of respondents (56%) consider firearm use acceptable in self-defence when someone else attacks first, while 47% find it acceptable when there is a risk of an attack.
Outside these situations, acceptance is considerably lower. Celebratory shooting at weddings, birthdays and similar events is considered acceptable by 18% of respondents, while just 6% accept using firearms to threaten, harm or punish others.
From public perceptions to better policies
These findings are part of a broader effort to understand what drives demand for firearms in the Western Balkans.
The data comes from a perception survey conducted between November 2024 and January 2025, involving 6,819 respondents across Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo¹, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
The survey forms the quantitative component of the regional study Understanding the Factors Fuelling the Demand for Firearms in the Western Balkans – Research Findings and Recommendations, which also draws on focus groups, expert consultations and case analysis.
Alongside the findings, the platform presents strategic recommendations for public authorities, civil society and other partners. These address improving real and perceived security, strengthening institutional trust, promoting responsible firearms ownership, expanding legal disarmament pathways, and developing targeted awareness and education campaigns.
Explore the data yourself
The Data Explorer goes beyond regional averages, allowing users to examine how experiences and attitudes differ between jurisdictions and population groups.
Covering 12 survey questions on first-hand experience with firearms, beliefs and norms, and safety and society, the platform allows users to:
- Compare findings across jurisdictions and against the regional average;
- Filter responses by sex, age, education and type of settlement;
- Download charts as images or export underlying data to Excel;
- Access strategic recommendations and the full regional study;
- Explore the findings in English, Albanian, Macedonian and BCMS.
Whether informing policy, supporting research or reporting on firearms-related issues, the platform offers a way to look beyond assumptions and examine what people across the region actually think.
Explore the Firearms Demand Study Data Explorer
This platform was made possible with the financial support of the European Union as part of the second phase of the regional project Support for Enhancing the Fight Against the Illegal Possession, Misuse, and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Western Balkans.
1 For the United Nations Development Programme, references to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). For the European Union, this designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.