Publication

This SIPRI Fact Sheet 1) highlights the trends and issues that have defined global arms transfers from 1950 to 2016; 2) identifies the world’s main arms exporters and importers over the last five years; and 3) pinpoints the latest regional trends in this form of exchange. For the 2012-2016 period, the text concludes that major weapon transfers reached their highest level since the end of the Cold War; the globe’s five biggest exporters were the United States, Russia, China, France and Germany; and the main recipient region was Asia and Oceania, which accounted for 43% of all imports.