Washington has extended its lead in ammunition sales, quadrupling the share of its main competitor, France.
The war of Ukraine caused a sharp rise in the US arms sales in the last five years, in which Europe doubled its purchases and Ukraine became the world's main importer, according to a report released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The study, which compares the periods 2015-2019 and 2020-2024, also reflects that France has established itself as the world's second largest exporterAhead of Russia, whose sales plummeted, the total volume of global arms trade fell slightly (by 0,6%).
Ukraine's imports increased 8,8-fold between the two periods, allowing it to overtake India as the number one country with XNUMX% of total purchases.
At least 35 countries sent weapons to Ukraine following the Russian invasion in 2022 and “substantial” deliveries are in the pipeline, SIPRI notes, with the US as the main supplier (45%), followed by Germany (12%) and Poland (11%).
US and European numbers
Over the past five years, the United States has increased its sales by 21% and increased its share of the global market from 35% to 43%.
For the first time in two decades, The main recipient of American weapons was not the Middle East (33%), but Europe (35%), although by country Saudi Arabia maintains the first place with 12%.
“The US is in a unique position when it comes to arms exports. With 43%, its share of the global market is four times that of the next largest exporter, France,” the report said.
European imports in that period rose by 155% (105% in the case of NATO member countries), of which 64% were supplied by the United States, 12 percentage points more than in the previous five years.
The other arms suppliers to Europe were France and South Korea (both 6,5%), Germany (4,7%) and Israel (3,9%).
The report notes, however, that European NATO countries “have taken steps to reduce their dependence on arms imports and to strengthen the European arms industry.”
Although far behind the US, France has consolidated its position as the world's second largest exporter, with 9,6%, up one point, and tripled its sales to other European countries, due to the delivery of fighter jets to Greece and Croatia and the shipment of arms to Ukraine.
Decline in sales in Russia and China
Russia, with 7,8% of the total, experienced a 64% drop in sales, a trend that had already begun in 2020 and which is due to several factors such as its own needs on the battlefield, trade sanctions and “Pressures” from the US and its allies on other states not to buy weapons from them, the study highlights.
India remains the largest recipient of Russian arms exports with 38%, although it continues to reduce its dependence on Moscow, followed by China (17%) and Kazakhstan (11%).
China was the world's fourth largest seller with 5,9% of the total, down 5%, despite "efforts" to increase its sales.
Of particular note is the rise experienced by Italy, which rose from tenth to sixth place, just behind Germany, thanks to an increase of 138% and which accounted for almost 5% of the total.
Asia-Oceania remains the main arms importing region, although its share fell from 41% to 33%, mainly due to a decline in Chinese purchases.
Arms imports in the Middle East have fallen by 20% in the last five years, although four of the top ten global purchasing countries are from that region (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait).
In the Americas, arms purchases rose by 13%, with the United States accounting for half of imports and Brazil increasing its imports, which account for 49% of the total in South America, to 77%.
The main suppliers of arms to South America were France (30%), the United States (12%) and the United Kingdom (11%).
(With information from EFE)
Source: INFOBAE