According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on global arms transfers, the United States has become the world's largest arms exporter.
From 2020 to 2024, the United States emerged as the predominant exporter of major arms, accounting for 43 percent of global arms exports. This marks a notable rise from the 35 percent share recorded between 2015 and 2019, as reported by SIPRI in March '25. The report also highlighted that despite European nations advocating for enhanced "defense autonomy", they continue to rely heavily on American weaponry.
The United States sold weapons to 107 countries from 2020 to 2024. The share of American companies in global arms exports increased from 35% in 2015-2019 to 43% in 2020-2024.
The United States remains the preferred supplier of advanced long-range weapons, such as combat aircraft.
France became the world's second-largest arms supplier, supplying 65 countries with weapons between 2020 and 2024. France accounted for 7.8% of global arms exports.
The United States accounts for more than 50% of Europe's arms imports
The United States accounted for more than 50% of Europe's arms imports between 2020 and 2024, with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Norway among the largest buyers of American weapons.
For the first time in twenty years, Europe accounted for the largest share of US arms exports between 2020 and 2024, with 35%. The Middle East fell to second place with 33%. Saudi Arabia became the largest buyer of American weapons with a share of 12%.
Also noteworthy is the 21% decline in arms imports to Asia and Oceania, due to China, the world's second-largest economy, producing more of its own weapons.
China became the fourth-largest arms exporter in the period 2020-2024, accounting for 5.9% of global arms exports. China's imports have fallen by 64% over the past 5 years.
Middle Eastern arms imports also fell by 20% in the period 2020-2024 compared to the period 2015-2019.
Germany accounted for 33% of Israel's arms imports
Germany, whose share of global arms exports is lower than that of neighboring France at 2.6%, accounted for 33% of Israel's arms imports. The United States took the largest share of Israel's arms imports in the period 2020-2024 at 66%.
India also became the second-largest arms importer in the world. Its arms imports to this country fell by 9.3%.
Thus, the US continues to increase the volume of arms sales, systematically strengthening its economy.
Research has shown that despite the American president's statements about the need to achieve peace in Ukraine, the United States does not plan to stop exporting weapons to crisis regions, as this is one of the simple ways to strengthen its own economy. So, the biggest beneficiaries of the Russia-Ukraine conflict are US arms dealers.
The US economy and foreign policy motivated by conflicts may establish a lasting trend, resulting in a simultaneous escalation of violent conflicts and the military-industrial complex.
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