New gun permits quadruple in Poland since 2020 amid Ukraine war

The number of gun licenses issued in Poland has more than quadrupled in the past four years, police data obtained by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna ( DGP ) show.

Last year saw a record 43,400 permits granted, bringing the total number of licenses to 367,000 and the estimated number of firearms owned by civilians to about one million, reports DGP . In 2022, 34,400 licenses were issued, up from 10,200 in 2020.

In 2017, Poland had the fewest firearms per 100 residents in the European Union, according to the Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based research project.

Under Polish law, civilians can apply for licenses for sporting, hunting, collecting and personal protection purposes. To obtain one, applicants must undergo medical examinations, pass a test, and join the relevant association, such as the Polish Sport Shooting Association, the Polish Hunting Association, or a collectors' group.

Access to firearms widened in 2023, when parliament passed legislation removing what the bill called “unnecessary administrative and legal barriers”. The law allowed members of uniformed services to apply for personal protection permits, and change lawmakers said was intended to “strengthen Poland's defense potential”.

That measure prompted a sharp increase in the number of personal protection permits issued, from 154 in 2022 to 6,200 in 2023 and 9,500 in 2024, reports DGP .

The health ministry last year simplified the appeal procedure in cases where licenses are denied on medical grounds, but no further easing of gun laws has been introduced.

In the weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Polish shooting ranges saw a sharp rise in visitors. The growing interest in firearms is also reflected in increased investment in shooting facilities and training programs across Poland.

Since last September, basic gun training has been mandatory for Polish pupils in the final year of primary school and the first year of secondary school. Poland's education and defense ministries are also working to adapt school PE classes to prepare children for civil defense .

Poland's defense ministry has since 2018 also run a program subsidizing the construction and renovation of shooting ranges. According to Polska Zbrojna, a military news website, that initiative has helped create or upgrade 405 ranges so far, with demand especially strong in eastern Poland, which borders Belarus and Ukraine.

According to the Small Arms Survey, in 2017 Poland had 2.5 firearms per 100 inhabitants. The Netherlands and Romania had the next lowest rates, each with 2.6 firearms per 100 people.

Finland led the EU with 32.4 firearms per 100 inhabitants, followed by Austria (30), Cyprus (29.1) and Malta (28.3).

More recent data are not available, however Krzysztof Kuczyński, a lawyer, firearms law expert and owner of the Gdańsk Shooting School, told DGP that Poland is “the most disarmed nation in Europe…even though the desire to own weapons is growing”.

Calls to liberalize the rules even further have so far come mainly from the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja) party, which has created a parliamentary committee for weapons possession. However, some members of other parties also have voiced support.

“Life dictates that we need to start discussing [liberalizing gun laws], because right now, it seems to me that the licensing system is very rigid and doesn't fully meet today's requirements,” Piotr Kaleta, an MP for the main opposition party, Law and Justice (PiS), told DGP.

Artur Łącki, an MP for the main ruling party Civic Coalition (KO), said the idea was justified but warned against rushing to expand access to guns. He advised that Poland must first reduce its levels of alcohol consumption because “mixing firearms with alcohol is an explosive mix”.

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