TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released its annual report on global arms sales on March 11, which reveals that the volume of weapons sales worldwide has increased by almost 8 percent over the last four years.



Unsurprisingly, the top weapons provider is still the United States, whose share of the global weapons market has increased to 36 percent over the years 2014-2018, compared to 30 percent for the five years previous.



The U.S. exported military weapons to at least 98 client nations over the past five years.



The increase in weapons sales is a stark reminder of the increased risk of military conflict across the globe, say SIPRI analysts.



Also troubling is that over half of U.S. weapons sold (52 percent), end up in the Middle East. That amounts to nearly double what the U.S. provided to the region between 2009 and 2013.

Saudi Arabia alone accounts for 22 percent of all U.S. weapons’ sales for the past five years, according to the report. Saudi Arabia is also the world’s leading weapons importer, purchasing an estimated 12 percent of all weapons sold globally.

The number two global arms exporter is still Russia, at about 20 percent of the global market. However their total sales have decreased considerably compared to the 2009-2013 period.



Following behind the U.S. and Russia, France and Germany take the number three and four positions respectively, with China as the number five weapons exporter. These five nations collectively account for 75 percent of the global arms trade, according to SIPRI.



China reportedly sold arms to 58 nations between 2014 and 2018, and their largest customer remains the nation of Pakistan.



As for the largest purchasers of military equipment from foreign powers, behind Saudi Arabia at number one are India, Egypt, Australia, and Algeria, for the top five.



Regionally, Asia and Oceania are the most vibrant markets for international weapon’s sales, according to the SIPRI report.