SIPRI Fact Sheets

Imports of major arms by states in Europe increased by 94 per cent between 2014–18 and 2019–23, while the global volume of international arms transfers decreased marginally, by 3.3 per cent. There were overall decreases in arms transfers to all other regions, but states in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East continued to import arms in much larger volumes than those in Europe. Nine of the 10 biggest arms importers in 2019–23, including the top 3 of India, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, were in Asia and Oceania or the Middle East.

The combined arms revenue of the world’s largest arms-producing and military services companies (the SIPRI Top 100) was $597 billion in 2022. This represents a 3.5 per cent decrease in their arms revenue from 2021 in real terms. This fact sheet lists the SIPRI Top 100 for 2022 from the updated SIPRI Arms Industry Database and describes the trends in international arms revenue that are revealed by the new data.

This booklet provides an overview of women’s participation in multilateral peace operations, including data and trends regarding women’s representation in leadership roles, overall personnel and member states’ contributions.

World military expenditure rose by 3.7 per cent in real terms in 2022, to reach a record high of $2240 billion. Global spending grew by 19 per cent over the decade 2013–22 and has risen every year since 2015. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a major driver of the growth in spending in 2022. Military expenditure in Europe rose by 13 per cent during the year, which was the largest annual increase in total European spending in the post-cold war era.

Imports of major arms by European states rose by 47 per cent between 2013–17 and 2018–22, while the global volume of international arms transfers fell by 5.1 per cent. There were decreases in arms transfers to Africa (–40 per cent), the Americas (–21 per cent), Asia and Oceania (–7.5 per cent) and the Middle East (–8.8 per cent) between the two periods. The five largest arms importers in 2018–22 were India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia and China. The five largest arms exporters were the United States, Russia, France, China and Germany.

The combined arms sales of the world’s largest arms-producing and military services companies (the SIPRI Top 100) were $592 billion in 2021, which was an increase of 1.9 per cent in their arms sales compared with 2020. This fact sheet lists the SIPRI Top 100 for 2021 from the updated SIPRI Arms Industry Database and describes the trends in international arms sales that are revealed by the new data.

This booklet provides a data-driven analysis of United Nations peace operations, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe field operations and European Union Common Security and Defence Policy missions and operations.

In 2021 world military expenditure surpassed the two trillion US dollar mark for the first time, reaching $2113 billion. Global spending in 2021 was 0.7 per cent higher than in 2020 and 12 per cent higher than in 2012. The economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have not ended the continuous upward trend in world military expenditure seen since 2015. As a result of the strong economic recovery across the globe in 2021, world military spending as a share of world gross domestic product—the global military burden—reached 2.2 per cent, down from 2.3 per cent in 2020.

The volume of international transfers of major arms in 2017–21 was 4.6  per  cent lower than in 2012–16, but was 3.9  per  cent higher than in 2007–11. The five largest arms exporters in 2017–21 were the United States, Russia, France, China and Germany. The five largest arms importers were India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Australia and China.

The combined arms sales of the world’s largest arms-producing and military services companies (the SIPRI Top 100) were $531 billion in 2020—an increase of 1.3 per cent on their arms sales in 2019. This fact sheet lists the SIPRI Top 100 for 2020 from the updated SIPRI Arms Industry Database and describes the trends in international arms sales that are revealed by the new data.