But trade has fallen

Arms imports to Europe almost doubled

Between 2019 and 2023, European countries imported almost twice as many weapons as in previous years (2014 to 2018). However, the global arms trade fell slightly by 3.3 percent, as the new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows.

Ukraine remains by far the largest importer in Europe. Its share worldwide is 4.9 percent. "In recent years, we have seen a significantly greater demand for air defense systems in Europe, which was set in motion by Russia's attack on Ukraine," said Pieter Wezeman from SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). The majority of European arms imports (55 percent) come from the USA.

42 percent of all exports from the USA
According to the report, the USA is once again the world's largest arms exporter. It supplies its war equipment to more countries than ever before and is responsible for 42 percent of all exports. France is in second place and Russia in third. China is just ahead of Germany. Europe is responsible for around a third of global arms exports, with the majority going to non-European regions.

The five largest importers were again India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Ukraine and Pakistan. A large proportion of deliveries to Asia also originate from the USA.

China's neighboring countries are arming themselves
According to the report, it is striking that several of China's neighboring countries are arming themselves - India, Pakistan, Japan and South Korea. In Japan, the increase is as high as 155 percent. This is driven by "concerns about China's ambitions", said SIPRI researcher Siemon Wezeman. In contrast, the global arms trade has fallen by 3.3 percent over the past five years.

SIPRI assumes that imports in Europe will remain at a high level in the future. The continent has a strong military-industrial capacity.