Global Arms Trade

Global arms sales increased for the first time in five years in 2016 as rising geopolitical tensions fueled defense spending. Sales by the world's 100 biggest arms producers increased 1.9% from the previous year to reach $374.8 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Arms sales’ are defined by SIPRI as sales of military goods and services to military customers, including sales for domestic procurement and sales for export. Changes are calculated in real terms and country comparisons are only for the same companies over different years.

American firms remained at the top of the industry in 2016, with sales increasing by 4% to more than $217 billion. That was 58% of the global total.  Sales by Arms sales by companies in Western Europe remain stable, but trends diverge. Russian firms increased 3.8% to $26.6 billion, a slower expansion than in recent years. 

Emerging producers’ category covers companies based in Brazil, India, South Korea and Turkey. The trend in this category for 2016 is dominated by the 20.6% overall increase in the arms sales of South Korean companies, with total sales amounting to 8.4 billion.  

Other established producers’ category covers companies based in Australia, Israel, Japan, Poland, Singapore and Ukraine. The combined arms sales of companies in these countries fell by 1.2% in 2016, largely driven by an overall decrease in the arms sales of Japanese companies (–6.4 per cent). Japan’s largest arms companies experienced sharp falls in 2016.