The number of background checks conducted for gun purchases has reached 400 million since 1998. Background checks hit the impressive milestone last month when around 2.7 million checks were performed.

The background checks were conducted through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, which is operated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

While each check does not necessarily translate to one firearm purchase, NICS is used as a tool to closely estimate how many guns have been sold in the country.

When the FBI first began keeping track of background checks through NICS, it reported hundreds of thousands of checks done per month. Fast forward to today, and the system is now conducting millions if not tens of millions of checks per month.

So far this year, the FBI has conducted about 27.8 million background checks. Last year had set a record for annual checks, with about 39.6 million background checks. This was a big jump from the 28.3 million checks in 2019 and the 26.1 million checks recorded in 2018.

The FBI NICS was established following the passing of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, also known as the Brady Act, in 1993. The law was one of the last major legislation that restricted firearm ownership in the U.S.

Analysts said political turmoil, social unrest, and the recent pandemic have been major drivers in the spike in gun purchases throughout the country.