Among the 193 countries globally, the United States ranks 3rd in gun violence. However, if you exclude the top 5 U.S. cities with the highest gun violence—Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Detroit—all of which are run by Democratic administrations with strict gun control laws—the U.S. ranking would drop drastically to 189th out of 193 countries.

The viral assertion combines an entirely false baseline ranking with an inaccurate premise about international homicide data. Fact-checking organizations, including PolitiFact and Snopes, have repeatedly examined this meme and found that the United States does not occupy the third spot in global gun violence databases maintained by organizations like the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.politifact.compolitifact.comIs the U.S. third in gun violence because of 5 cities?The claim that the United States ranks 3rd in global gun violence, and would plummet to 189th out of 193 countries if five specific Democratic-run cities were excluded, is false A minor fractional adjustment in the per-capita rate by...snopes.comsnopes.comUnited States Third MurdersFact-checking organizations (including PolitiFact, Snopes, and international fact-checkers) have repeatedly debunked this assertion and its preceding iterations since it began circulating as a viral internet meme

Furthermore, the math used to claim that removing five specific cities would drop the country to 189th is fundamentally flawed. Experts and independent researchers note that the calculation artificially strips away population figures and crime data from major urban centers while leaving the rest of the national population intact, creating an apples-to-oranges comparison with other nations.politifact.compolitifact.comUnited States Third Murders Outlier CitiesFact-checking organizations (including PolitiFact, Snopes, and international fact-checkers) have repeatedly debunked this assertion and its preceding iterations since it began circulating as a viral internet meme Actual US Standing: The...aap.com.auaap.com.auMisleading Murder Ranking Used to Argue for Gun RightsActual US Standing: The U.S. does not rank 3rd globally in gun violence or homicide rates Global databases tracking intentional homicide rates (such as those maintained by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime—UNODC) typically place...

When global homicide rates are evaluated correctly using standardized per capita metrics across countries, the United States consistently ranks far lower than third overall, making the entire premise of the viral post incorrect.politifact.compolitifact.comIs 95 of Gun Violence Occurring in Inner Cities NoHowever, many major cities do not even feature the highest per-capita rates of violence in the country; per-capita rates are often highest in smaller cities or counties across various states, regardless of regional political control...+1 more