Global Arms Trade
The global trade in major weapons is dominated by a handful of suppliers, with the United States alone accounting for 43% of exports in 2020-24. Russia's share has collapsed by nearly two-thirds, while Ukraine has surged to become the world's single largest arms importer. All figures use SIPRI's trend-indicator value (TIV), a volume measure averaged over five-year periods.
Key Arms Trade Insights
America's dominance is widening
US arms exports rose 21% between 2015-19 and 2020-24, lifting its global share from 35% to 43% - almost as much as the next eight largest exporters combined. The USA supplied major arms to 107 states.
Russia's export collapse
Russian arms exports fell 64% between the two periods, cutting its global share from 21% to 7.8% and dropping it to third place behind the USA and France. The decline began before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine becomes the top importer
Ukraine's arms imports rose more than 96-fold (+9,627%), making it the world's largest importer at 8.8% of the global total. The USA supplied 45% of these arms, mostly as aid.
Europe rearms, mostly American
European arms imports jumped 155% between the periods, and the US share of European NATO members' imports rose from 52% to 64%, deepening transatlantic supply dependence.
Top Arms Exporters by Global Share
Share of global exports of major weapons held by the 10 largest suppliers in 2020-24, measured in SIPRI trend-indicator value.
Key Finding: The USA (43%), France (9.6%) and Russia (7.8%) lead; the top five suppliers together account for 72% of all exports.
Top Arms Importers by Global Share
Share of global imports of major weapons received by the 10 largest recipients in 2020-24.
Key Finding: Ukraine (8.8%) edged ahead of India (8.3%) as the top importer; the top five recipients took 35% of all imports.
US Rising, Russia Falling
Global export share of the United States and Russia across the two most recent five-year periods.
Key Finding: The US share climbed from 35% to 43% while Russia's fell from 21% to 7.8% between 2015-19 and 2020-24.
Change in Export Volume by Supplier
Percentage change in the volume of arms exports for each of the 10 largest suppliers, from 2015-19 to 2020-24.
Key Finding: Italy (+138%) and the USA (+21%) grew strongly, while Russia (-64%) fell sharply; the UK, Israel, China and Germany were broadly flat.
US Share of European NATO Arms Imports
Proportion of arms imported by European NATO members that was supplied by the United States, comparing the two periods.
Key Finding: The US supplied 64% of European NATO arms imports in 2020-24, up from 52% in 2015-19, as European imports overall rose 155%.
Understanding Arms Trade Data
TIV measures volume, not money
SIPRI expresses arms transfers in the trend-indicator value (TIV), a unit based on the known production costs of a core set of weapons. It is a measure of the volume of transferred military resources, not the financial value of the deals. TIV figures therefore cannot be read as sales revenue or dollar prices, and shares describe volume of major arms delivered.
Five-year averaging
Because the delivery of a single large order (such as warships or combat aircraft) can swing one year's totals dramatically, SIPRI reports data as five-year averages. Comparing 2020-24 with 2015-19 gives a more stable picture of trends than any single year. All shares and rankings on this page use the 2020-24 period.
What counts as a major weapon
SIPRI tracks only major conventional arms - aircraft, air-defence systems, armoured vehicles, artillery, engines, missiles, sensors, ships and satellites. It records actual deliveries, not orders or contracts, and counts gifts and aid as well as sales. Small arms, light weapons and most ammunition are excluded.
Caveats and rounding
Figures often rely on estimates from open sources, since many transfers are not officially disclosed. Percentage shares may not sum to exactly 100% because of rounding, and a delivery's value can differ from its commercial price. Russia's 2020-24 imports from North Korea, included here, breached a UN arms embargo on the supplier.