US and NATO Allies Were Responsible for Nearly 65% of Global Arms Exports in 2018-22

The US share in global arms exports increased from 33% to 40% in 2018-22, and its ally France, the third-largest exporter of weapons, was also a significant beneficiary, with its share increasing from roughly 7.1% to 11%.

March 15, 2023 | Source: ScheerPost | by Peoples Dispatch

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has released data showing that NATO members US and France were responsible for more than half of all heavy weapons supplied worldwide in the period between 2018 and 2022. The data was released by SIPRI on Monday, March 13.

As per the data, major European countries, mostly NATO members, increased their arms imports by 47%, in a period when the rest of the world, particularly the countries of the Global South, witnessed a significant decline (5.1%).

East Asia and Oceania were the only other regions, apart from Europe, that registered an overall increase in arms imports by 21% and 25%, respectively, in the 2018-22 period. Within these regions, Japan registered the sharpest increase in arms imports (171%), followed by South Korea (61%), and Australia (23%). All three countries are major US allies.