Global Arms Trade on the Rise: Who Sells the Most and Who Buys

(Patria) – The largest arms exporters in the last five years were the USA, Russia, France, Germany, and China, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The report is based on relevant data collected in the period from 2015 to 2019 and compares it with data from the period from 2010 to 2014.

The data indicates that Middle Eastern countries are buying more weapons than before, with Saudi Arabia leading the way as the world's largest importer.

In terms of exports, European countries are among the top ten, including France (7.9%), the United Kingdom (3.7%), Spain (3.1%), and Italy (2.1%).

The US exports to the Middle East, Europe, Japan, and Taiwan. Statistics show that one in every three weapons in the world is produced in the United States, which holds a 36% market share, exporting to a total of 96 countries. Compared to the previous five-year period, this share has increased by 5%, and the volume by 23%.

Half of US exports in the past five years have been directed to the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia purchasing 50% of the arms, reveals Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher at SIPRI. He also claims that demand for advanced US military aircraft has increased in Europe, Australia, Japan, and Taiwan.

Euronews writes that the US share in global arms trade should not be attributed to President Trump, as the largest purchase agreements were concluded during the term of his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Unlike the previous five-year period when the US was only 17% ahead of Russia in terms of arms exports, in the past five-year period, exports are 76% higher compared to Russia.

European countries account for a quarter of the total global arms trade: France has boosted the average by as much as 72%. In the same period, it supplied weapons to 75 countries, and its exports to the Middle East have increased by 363%!

Germany's arms export percentage has increased by 17% in the last five years, making it one of the four largest exporters. Its main clients are South Korea, Greece, and Algeria.

The United Kingdom's average exports have fallen by 15% due to fewer purchase agreements with India, Saudi Arabia, and the US.

European countries are buying 3.2% more weapons than in the previous five-year period, mainly from the US, and a large percentage of these weapons have been used in Ukraine and Armenia.

And the largest importers are...

In the past five years, the largest arms importers have been Saudi Arabia (12%), India (9.2%), and Egypt (5.8%). Saudi Arabia imports 73% of its arms from the US and the UK. 

The Middle East imports 61% more than in previous years.

The United Arab Emirates, which, like Saudi Arabia, is involved in the war in Yemen, as well as in Libya, is the eighth largest importer of arms, with two-thirds of its arms coming from the US.

Despite the UN arms embargo in Libya, parties to the war there, ongoing since 2014, are acquiring weapons from Turkey, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Belarus, and Egypt, writes Euronews.