The rates are higher because of the collation of figures. In black and white, the US is ‘safer’ than Sweden, Austria, Finland......
There are a large number of UK violent crimes that skew the figures. Offences which aren’t classed as violent in the US or other countries.
Assaults in the US are highest against the person. In the UK its most violent offences are against property (burglary). The UK murder rate per head (per 100000) is a quarter of the US, its gun crime per head is one sixteenth, its gun murder even less.
The UK has a population of around 62 million people, yet has less than 800 murders a year. Serial killing is almost unknown (unlike the US, where the FBI itself says that at least 50 serial killers are working at any one time, sompe experts think it could be 50-200), child murder is very low (120 a year, less than 10 murdered by strangers).
Good point about the different way to classify crimes among the nations. (Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics).
Although the above link discredits one of the statistics of violent crime per 100,000 in GB as 2,000+ comapared to the US at 466; they still have an estimate of 776 in GB trying to compare apples to apples.
But something to keep in mind when just looking at the data, that countries call certain crimes a different thing. I saw were in India, a man sexually assaulting his wife is not a crime. At least some blogger said so!;)