International arms transfers
In: SIPRI yearbook: armaments, disarmament and international security
ISSN: 0953-0282, 0579-5508, 0347-2205
The volume of international transfers of major conventional weapons grew by 17 per cent between 2003-2007 and 2008-12. The five largest suppliers in 2008-12 -- the United States, Russia, Germany, France and China -- accounted for 75 per cent of the volume of exports. This is the first time since the end of the cold war that China has ranked among the five largest arms exporters, which had consisted solely of the USA and European states. China may represent the vanguard of an increase in the significance of Asian suppliers in the international arms trade, as South Korea is an emerging arms supplier and Japan and Singapore have potential to become major suppliers. Other significant changes in 2008-12 include the absence from the top five suppliers of the United Kingdom for the first five-year period since 1950; the departure of the Netherlands from the 10 largest suppliers; and the ranking of Ukraine as the ninth largest supplier. One of the consequences of the impact of the financial crisis in the USA and Europe has been the additional pressure to seek new export markets. This has led the USA and European states to streamline bureaucratic procedures and to be more willing to engage in licensed production, technology transfer and cooperative production arrangements. While SIPRI data on international arms transfers does not represent their financial value, a number of states also publish figures on the financial value of their arms exports. Based on national data, SIPRI estimates that the total value of the global arms trade in 2011 was at least $43 billion. Adapted from the source document.