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A Top Global Think Tank

Welcome to SIPRI

Welcome to SIPRITitle Picture Summer SIPRI

SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public. SIPRI is named as one of the world's leading think tanks in Foreign Policy magazine's "Think Tank Index".  Read more about SIPRI >>

 

News

  • New SIPRI newsletter out!

    Do not miss the essay on the upcoming Arms Trade Treaty meetings in New York by SIPRI Experts Dr Paul Holtom and Mark Bromley. Read the newsletter here.

  • SIPRI hosts EU Foreign Policy seminar

    SIPRI in cooperation with the Swedish Institute of International Affairs and the Institut für Europäische Politik hosted a seminar on crucial issues of European foreign policy: subregional cooperation, European Action Service, European Neighborhood policy and the EU as a foreign policy actor in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Read more and download key papers and documents here.

  • Press invitation: Nuclear disarmament- myth or reality?

    Monday, 13 June, 12.00–12.30, Hotel Diplomat, Strandvägen 7A, Stockholm:
    On the occasion of the International Luxembourg Forum (ILF) conference in Stockholm, 
the organizers and SIPRI invite you to a press briefing. Read the pre-release here and details for the briefing here. 

  • SIPRI Yearbook 2011 out

    7 June: Resource competition raises tensions; nuclear forces ‘leaner but meaner’; peace operation numbers fall. Read the press release here and more about the yearbook here.

  • New SIPRI newsletter out!

    Do not miss the essay on the world's security challenges by SIPRI Director Dr Bates Gill. Read the newsletter here.

  • 18 May: Australian Foreign Minister at SIPRI event

    On the occasion of the Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd's visit to Sweden, SIPRI and International IDEA hosted a briefing on Global Implications of the Asia-Pacific Century. Download the key address of Minister Rudd here.

  • New SIPRI military expenditure data for 2010 released 11th April!

    World military expenditure in 2010 is estimated at $1,630 billion, an increase of 1.3 per cent in real terms over 2009. Read the press release in English, French, Swedish and Spanish here. Download the media backgrounder on military expenditure in 2010 here. Go to the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database and find all SIPRI's military expenditure data from 1988-2010.

  • 22 March: New strategy needed to unite Northern Ghana after years of tribal conflict, new report

    Tribal conflict in Northern Ghana requires the urgent involvement of the Ghanaian Government and civil society organizations according to a new report by WACSI and SIPRI. Read the press release here and download the report here.

  • 18 March: Liberia urgently needs police reform, new report

    Liberia urgently needs police reform plan as withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces approaches, says SFCG and SIPRI in a new report. Read the press release here and download the report here. 

  • 14 March: SIPRI launches new data on international arms transfers

    India world's largest arms importer. Read the press release in English, Swedish and French,  access the Fact Sheet (8 pages) here, and the comprehensive annual updated database here.

  • 7 March: SIPRI presents Kyrgyzstan report at German Parliament

    At 15.00 today, Monday, SIPRI Conflict Programme Director Dr Neil Melvin presents the report entitled Promoting a Stable and Multiethnic Kyrgyzstan: Overcoming the Causes and Legacies of Violence to the German Bundestag. Download the report here.
     

  • 21 Feb: SIPRI launches Top 100 arms producing companies

    Top global arms industry increases arms sales despite recession in 2009. Read the press release in English, French and Swedish here and access the updated dataset here.

  • SIPRI ranked a top global think tank again in 2010

    SIPRI ranked 5th in global think tank ranking (non-US) and 2nd among think tanks in Western Europe according to the 2010 Global Go To Think Tank Rankings published by the University of Pennsylvania. Read the full report and complete ranking lists here.

  • SIPRI Policy Paper on international top 10 reading list for 2010

    The SIPRI Policy Paper New Foreign Policy Actors in China has been awarded an Albie by Foreign Policy. The Albies are given to the 10 best publications on the global political economy of the past year. Read more here.

  • World map of peace operations

    The SIPRI Map of Multilateral Peace Operation Deployments has been updated to show the latest available figures. The map shows details of all current multilateral peace operations worldwide. Read more and download the Map here.

  • New SIPRI book Governing the bomb launched in Geneva 15 Nov.

    'Go nuclear' or 'go zero'-as the international community stands at a nuclear Governing the Bomb covercrossroads, a number of questions demand urgent attention: How do established and emerging nuclear-armed states manage their nuclear affairs? What effect does the balance between secrecy and openness have on larger questions of security and democracy? Read the press release here, more about the book here and the launch event here.

  • New SIPRI Fact Sheet on combat aircraft launched 10 Nov.

    Read the press release in English and Swedish here. Download the report here.

  • New SIPRI Fact Sheet on military spending and arms procurement in the Gulf states

    Recent reports that Saudi Arabia is seeking to purchase large numbers of combat aircraft and helicopters indicate that Saudi Arabia is planning a new arms-purchasing spree similar to that in the 1990s. This has raised questions about the possible impacts of military build-ups in the Gulf region, which includes both Iran and Iraq. To inform debate on this issue, SIPRI has prepared a fact sheet on military spending and arms imports in the Gulf states. Read more and download the Fact Sheet here.

  • New SIPRI paper on limitations of EU arms export reporting

    Insights no. 2010/5 cover

    Using the example of Central Asia, the Insights paper 'The limitations of European Union reports on arms exports: the case of Central Asia' assesses how the data contained in the EU annual report on arms exports can be used to monitor Member States' transfers of arms and military equipment. Read more and download the paper here. 

  • New foreign policy actors in China

    China Foreign Policy Actors Report
    Actors outside the traditional power structure increasingly shape China’s foreign policy. Expanding pluralism within Chinese society and China’s growing interdependence with the international community have led to the emergence of new players who want to have an impact on foreign policy formulation in line with their own, sometimes narrowly defined, interests, according to a SIPRI report launched 6 Sept in Helsinki. Read the press release here. Download the report here.

In Focus: SIPRI Yearbook 
SIPRI Yearbook 2011: launch
SIPRI Yearbook 2011 cover7 June: Media launch —cutting-edge information and analysis on developments in armaments, disarmament and international security.
15 June: Stockholm launch event: seminar on "Natural resources and conflict". Read more here.  

Activities in spring
May 18, 10:45-12:00, IDEA, Strömsborgsbron 1, Stockholm

Briefing on global implications of the Asia-Pacific century

SIPRI and International IDEA hosted a briefing on Europe's place in the Asia-Pacific century. A keynote presentation was made by Kevin Rudd,  Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, followed by commentaries from Dr Bates Gill, SIPRI Director, and Vidar Helgeson, Secretary-General of International IDEA. The event was chaired by Göran Lennmarker, Chairman of SIPRI Governing Board. Download the Foreign Minister's address here.

May 10, Stockholm

Seminar on China’s new five-year plan and its implications for Europe

SIPRI, as a member of the Stockholm China Alliance (SCA), is the lead organizer of the Fourth Stockholm China Seminar, China Looks Ahead: The Five-year Plan and What it Means for European Foreign Policy. The seminar was co-hosted by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA). It was introduced by Klas Molin, head of the MFA Asia Unit, and Dr Bates Gill, SIPRI Director. Keynote presentations were made by Professor Men Jing, InBev–Baillet Latour Chair of European Union–China Relations at the College of Europe, and Dr Bernt Berger, Senior Researcher in SIPRI’s China and Global Security Programme. The seminar took place at the Rosenbad Conference Centre. For more information contact Professor Thommy Svensson, the SCA co-ordinator.

May 2-4, Stockholm

Workshop: The Nuclear Renaissance and Risks of Nuclear Proliferation in Asia

SIPRI, together with Stockholm University (SU) and the Swedish Pugwash Group, organized a workshop looking at the current ‘nuclear renaissance’ in Asia and the risks of nuclear proliferation in the region. The workshop was hosted by Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien (the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences), Stockholm. For further information contact Professor Thomas Jonter of the SU Department of Economic History or Professor Masako Ikegami of the SU Department of Political Science.

Apr 26, Stockholm

Conference on the New Arctic: Building Cooperation in the Face of Emerging Challenges

This conference marked the beginning of the Swedish Chairmanship of the Arctic Council and the launch of the SIPRI Arctic Security Project 'Arctic Futures: Managing Competition and Promoting Cooperation', supported by a grant from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (MISTRA). Organized by SIPRI together with the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, the conference brought together leading policy makers and experts to consider the key political and security issues emerging in the Arctic and to examine the role of multilateral governance, notably the Arctic Council, in addressing these challenges. Contact SIPRI Research Assistant Kristofer Bergh for more information.

Mar 28, Stockholm

Workshop on Health and Security: Health in Fragile States

In cooperation with the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, the SIPRI Global Health and Security Programme presented the first in a series of meetings on health and security. The focus for the first meeting was on health in fragile states and presentations were given by experts drawn from a wide variety of communities, including global health, security and development. For more information contact Programme Coordinator Peter Clevestig.

 

Mar 22, Alisa Hotel, Accra

Seminar in Accra on Governance and Security in Ghana

The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), based in Accra, Ghana, in collaboration with SIPRI, is organizing a national seminar to launch the publication of 'Governance and Security in Ghana: The Dagbon Chieftaincy Crisis', the first country report of the Africa Security Governance (ASG) Project. The report provides policy recommendations to the Ghanan Government and Ghanan civil society on how to resolve the crisis. ASG supports the work of African civil society organizations to analyse security- and governance-related issues and raise awareness about these issues at home and abroad. Contact Charles Koyo Vandyck at WACSI for further information.

Mar 18, 10:00am, Monrovia City Hall Ball Room

Seminar: Police Reform and Internal Security in Liberia

The role of the police in post-conflict Liberia has been a real challenge and has been a crucial aspect of the country's overall reform of its security sector. The scheduled withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia requires that the Liberian Government and civil society work together to ensure that the transition to life in Liberia after the mission's departure will be a peaceful and democratic one. Search for Common Ground, based in Monrovia, Liberia, in collaboration with SIPRI is organizing a national seminar to present the key findings and recommendations of a country case study conducted by Search for Common Ground with the support of the Open Society Institute (OSI) and SIPRI titled “Security Sector Reform in Liberia - A Case of the Liberian national police and its capacity to respond to internal threat”. Contact Oscar Bloh for further information.

 

Databases

SIPRI Military Expenditure Database

The SIPRI Military Expenditure Database will be updated on 3 June with SIPRI's latest data. The database provides a consistent time series on the military spending of 172 countries since 1988. Data are provided  by country in the following three formats:

  • in local currency, at current prices. 1988-2009
  • in US dollars, at constant (2008) prices and exchange rates, 1988-2009
  • as a share (%) of gross domestic product (GDP), 1988-2008   

NEW! Now also available in Excel form.

Access the database here.