Today’s market size is the rising number of firearm background checks being seen annually in the United States. As can be seen in the graph to the right, the number of background checks have been on the climb annually since the turn of the century and have been climbing at a faster pace since 2005. In terms of checks by type of gun to be purchased, checks associated with handguns have risen at a slightly faster rate than checks for other types of firearms.

The number of background checks is not the same as the number of firearm purchases since not every background check is followed by a purchase and some background checks are followed by the purchase of multiple guns. Furthermore, an average of one percent of background checks results in a denial of eligibility to purchase a firearm. Nonetheless, the NICS firearm background check system statistics are one of the most accurate means of tracking gun sales at the national level in the United States.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2015
Market size: 23.03 million checks
Source: “Firearm Commerce in the United States, Annual Statistical Update, 2015,” U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, available online here. For an explanation of the NICS program, see the FBI website here.
Original source: U.S. Department of Justice.