International arms transfers

According to research institute, SIPRI, the volume of international transfers of major weapons in 2010–14 was 16 percent higher than in 2005–2009. The five biggest exporters in 2010–14 were the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and France, and the five biggest importers were India, Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan. The flow of arms to Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, and the Middle East increased significantly between 2005–2009 and 2010–14, while there was a notable decrease in the flow to Europe.^[4]

SIPRI has identified 60 countries as exporters of major weapons in 2010–14. The top 5 exporters during the period were responsible for almost 74 percent of all arms exports. The composition of the five largest exporters of arms changed between 2005–2009 and 2010–14: while the United States and Russia remained by far the largest exporters, China narrowly, but notably, replaced Germany as the third-largest exporter as Germany slid down to 6th place. The top 5 exported 14 percent more arms in 2010–14 than the top 5 in 2005–2009.^[4]

In 2010–14, 153 countries (about three-quarters of all countries) imported major weapons. The top 5 recipients accounted for 33 percent of the total arms imports during the period (see table 2). India, China and the UAE were among the top 5 importers in both 2005–2009 and 2010–14. Asia and Oceania accounted for nearly half of imports in 2010–14, followed by the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and Africa (see figure 3). SIPRI also identified seven groups of rebel forces as importers of major weapons in 2010–14, but none of them accounted for more than 0.02 percent of total deliveries.^[4]

In 2014-18, the volume of major arms international transfers was 7.8 per cent higher than in 2009-13 and 23 per cent than that in 2004-08. The largest arms importer was Saudi Arabia, importing arms majorly from the United States, United Kingdom and France. Between 2009–13 and 2014–18, the flow of arms to the Middle East increased by 87 per cent. Also including India, Egypt, Australia and Algeria, the top five importers received 35 per cent of the total arms imports, during 2014-18. Besides, the largest exporters were the United States, Russia, France, Germany and China.