According to a recent analysis by the Stockholm-based SIPRI Institute, the USA once again topped the list of the world’s largest arms exporters from 2014 to 2018. Together with Russia, France, Germany and China – which follow in second to fifth place – the USA accounts for 75 percent of the total volume of arms exports.
According to the SIPRI study, US arms exports increased by 29 percent between 2009 and 2013 and 2014 and 2018, and the US share of total global exports rose from 30 percent to 36 percent. The gap between the two highest arms-exporting countries also widened: US exports of major weapons were 75 percent higher than Russian exports between 2014 and 2018, while they were only 12 percent higher between 2009 and 2013. More than half (52 percent) of US arms exports went to the Middle East in 2014-18.
“The US has thus further consolidated its position as the world’s leading arms supplier,” says Aude Fleurant, Director of SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure Program. “The US has exported arms to at least 98 countries in the last five years. These shipments often included advanced weapons such as fighter aircraft, short-range and ballistic missiles, and a large number of guided bombs.”
Russia – the second largest arms exporter in the world – saw its arms exports fall by 17% in the period from 2014 to 2018 compared to 2009 to 2013, mainly due to declines in arms imports in India and Venezuela. France, on the other hand, was able to increase its arms exports by 43%, while Germany achieved an increase of 13%. Together, the EU countries accounted for 27% of global arms exports between 2014 and 2018. There was a comparatively small increase of 2.7% in arms exports from China, after a rise of 195% in the period from 2009 to 2013 compared to 2004 to 2008. There were high growth rates for the arms industries in Israel, South Korea and Turkey, which were able to increase their exports by 60 percent, 94 percent and 170 percent respectively.
While the flow of weapons declined in practically all regions, there was a significant increase in the Middle East. Arms imports by Middle Eastern countries increased by 87 percent from 2009 to 2013 to 2014 to 2018 and now account for 35 percent of global arms imports. Saudi Arabia became the world’s largest arms importer between 2014 and 2018, with an increase of 192% compared to 2009 to 2013. Arms imports in Egypt, the third largest arms importer between 2014 and 2018, tripled, while arms imports from Israel (354%), Qatar (225%) and Iraq (139%) also increased significantly between 2009 and 2013 and 2014 and 2018. Syria’s arms imports, on the other hand, fell by 87 percent.
“Arms from the US, UK and France are in high demand in the Gulf region, where conflict and tensions are rife,” says Pieter D. Wezeman, Senior Researcher at SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure Program. “Russia, France and Germany have dramatically increased their arms sales to Egypt in the last five years.”
