Germany exported fewer weapons last year. However, the war in Ukraine could make the government rethink and increase arms exports.
Contrary to the European trend, Germany’s arms exports fell by around a quarter in 2021. According to SIPRI, the Federal Republic exported around 914 TIV (=Trend Indicator Value) of weapons and equipment last year, putting the export volume at a five-year low.
As the infographic from shows, Germany has recorded more or fewer arms exports in the last 70 years – in 2007 arms exports were particularly high at 3,273 TIV. The main buyers of German weapons are South Korea, the USA and Egypt.
The global arms trade has recently declined slightly, but remains at a high level overall. In the period from 2017 to 2021, around 4.6 percent fewer weapons were traded than in the previous five years. Compared to the years 2007 to 2011, however, there is an increase of 3.9 percent.
Many European countries stocked up on arms even before the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Within the last five years, SIPRI registered an increase in imports of around 19 percent. However, imports to Europe accounted for around 13 percent of global arms transfers.
In the TIV, each weapon system is assigned a value. SIPRI then calculates all weapons transfers using the values and receives an overall indicator for the magnitude of the transfers.
Source: Stern
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