This emerges from the report published on Monday by the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). According to the SIPRI experts, a significant factor in this is the significant deterioration in relations between European countries and Russia.
Compared to previous years (2012 to 2016), arms imports to Europe increased by 19 percent, accounting for 13 percent of the global arms trade. Great Britain, Norway and the Netherlands were the largest European importers according to SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute), but a significant increase is also expected in other European countries in the coming decade, the report says.
USA and Russia are biggest exporters
Arms trade worldwide fell by 4.6 percent. The top five arms exporters remained unchanged, accounting for 77 percent of all war arms exports in the world in recent years. Number one is the USA (39 percent), followed by Russia (19 percent), France (eleven percent), China (4.6 percent) and Germany (4.5 percent). While exports from the US and France rose, those from China, Russia and Germany fell.
Despite the relatively strong increase in imports to Europe, other countries, namely India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Australia and China, remain among the top five importers. Regionally, Asia and Oceania remained the largest import region, accounting for 43 percent of the global arms trade, although there was a slight decline compared to 2012-2016. The SIPRI experts attribute the strong armament of some countries (Australia plus 62 percent, East Asia plus 20 percent) to the growing tensions with China.
Little change in the Middle East
With an increase in imports of 2.8 percent, there was little change in the Middle East, although the arms trade here is generally at a high level and it is worth taking a look at individual countries. In the past five years, Qatar has imported around 227 percent more weapons (making it the sixth largest importer in the world), while imports to the United Arab Emirates have fallen by 41 percent.
Africa imported 34 percent less between 2017 and 2021 than in the five years before, imports to North and South America also fell by 36 percent, with South America reaching its lowest level in the past 50 years. According to the experts at the Stockholm Institute, only Brazil continues to register “substantial” imports.
Source: Nachrichten
