The defence industry comprises research and development, engineering, production as well as servicing of equipment and facilities. Developing an indigenous defence industry requires large allocation of human and economic resources which is a luxury for select countries across the world. For the year 2017-2021, SIPRI has identified 60 countries which are major arms exporters. The top 25 arms suppliers exported 99 percent of the exports in the year 2017-21. Only three states outside Europe and North America were among the top 10 arms exporters in the said period, as per the SIPRI report. India ranks at 23rd position with a share of 0.2 percent of global arms export. Here’s the list of top 10 arms exporter in the world on the basis of the SIPRI report
1. The United States: The United States accounted for 39 percent of the global arms export industry for the period 2017-21. This is a 14 percent increase from the 32 percent share which it commanded during 2012-2016. The top recipients of the US arms exports were Saudi Arabia at 23 percent, followed by Australia at 9.4 percent and South Korea at 6.8 percent. The arms export by the US were 108 percent larger than those by second-placed Russia. Aircrafts were the major arms export in the 2017-21 period.
2. Russia Russia accounted for 19 percent of the global arms export industry for the period 2017-21. This is a 26 percent drop in the global arms export by Russia from the period 2012-16 when the numbers stood at 24 percent. This fact is attributed to a drop in exports to India and Vietnam. The top recipients of the Russian arms exports were India (at 28 percent), China at 21 percent and Egypt at 13 percent.
3. France France accounted for 11 percent of the global arms export industry for the period 2017-21. This is a 59 percent increase in the global arms export by France from the period 2012-16 when the numbers stood at 6.4 percent. The top recipients of the French arms exports were India (at 29 percent), Qatar at 16 percent and Egypt at 11 percent. French arms exports to India were 11 times higher than in 2012-2016. This was the highest level for any five-year period since 1950.
4. China China accounted for 4.6 percent of the global arms export industry for the period 2017-21. This is a 31 percent decrease in the global arms export by China from the period 2012-16 when the numbers stood at 6.4 percent. The top recipients of the Chinese arms exports were Pakistan (at 47 percent), Bangladesh at 16 percent and Thailand at 5 percent.
5. Germany Germany accounted for 4.5 percent of the global arms export industry for the period 2017-21. This is a 19 percent decrease in the global arms export by Germany from the period 2012-16 when the numbers stood at 5.4 percent. The top recipients of the German arms exports were South Korea (at 25 percent), Egypt at 14 percent and the US at 6.1 percent. Both South Korea and Egypt received four submarines, which accounted for a bulk of German exports.
6. Italy Italy accounted for 3.1 percent of the global arms export industry for the period 2017-21. This is a 16 percent increase in the global arms export by Italy from the period 2012-16 when the numbers stood at 2.5 percent. The top recipients of the Italian arms exports were Egypt (at 28 percent), Turkey at 15 percent and Qatar at 9 percent. Italy delivered two frigates to Egypt.
7. United Kingdom The UK accounted for 2.9 percent of the global arms export industry for the period 2017-21. This is a 41 percent decrease in the global arms export by the UK from the period 2012-16 when the numbers stood at 4.7 percent. The top recipients of the British arms exports were Oman (at 19 percent), Saudi Arabia at 19 percent and the US at 19 percent.
8. South Korea South Korea accounted for 2.8 percent of the global arms export industry for the period 2017-21. This is a 177 percent increase in the global arms export by South Korea from the period 2012-16 when the numbers stood at 1 percent. The top recipients of the South Korean arms exports were Philippines (at 16 percent), Indonesia at 14 percent and the UK at 14 percent. The UAE selected its air defence system and Egypt selected its artillery which shows the increase relevance of South Korea as an arms exporter
9. Spain Spain accounted for 2.5 percent of the global arms export industry for the period 2017-21. This is a 10 percent increase in the global arms export by Spain from the period 2012-16 when the numbers stood at 2.2 percent. The top recipients of the Spanish arms exports were Australia (at 51 percent), Turkey at 13 percent and Belgium at 8.6 percent.
10. Israel Israel accounted for 2.4 percent of the global arms export industry for the period 2017-21. This is a 5.6 percent decrease in the global arms export by Israel from the period 2012-16 when the numbers stood at 2.5 percent. The top recipients of the Israeli arms exports were India (at 37 percent), Azerbaijan at 13 percent and Vietnam at 11 percent.
