8. Transfers of major conventional weapons

Summary

The global SIPRI trend-indicator value of
international transfers of major conventional weapons in 1997
was just over $25 billion. There has been a clear trend of increasing
arms transfers since 1994, but the volume is still only 62% of
the volume in 1987, when the highest level since 1950 was reached.

There were no major changes in the ranked
list of arms exporters in 1997. The USA remained the dominant
exporter, increasing its share of deliveries to 43%. Nearly all
the transfers originate from a small number of supplier countries.
The leading suppliers for the period 1993-97 were the USA, Russia,
the UK, France, Germany and China. Among the arms recipients,
countries in North-East Asia and the Middle East are the leading
importers.

While plagued by many serious armed conflicts,
the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are not major recipients
of major conventional weapons and there seems to be no indication
that these weapons have played an important role in the outbreak
or outcome of these conflicts.

With some important exceptions, most arms
exporters provide official data on weapon exports. However, much
of this information is aggregated and there is no common definition
of arms transfers upon which countries base their figures. Generally,
the official data are difficult to analyse or to compare. In
1997, several countries released, for the first time, data on
arms exports or promised to do so in 1998. In 1997 a group of
government experts evaluated the UN Register of Conventional
Arms but failed to reach a consensus regarding changes or improvements.

Appendix 8A. The volume of transfers of major conventional weapons, 1988–97

IAN ANTHONY, PIETER D. WEZEMAN AND SIEMON T. WEZEMAN

Appendix 8B. Register of the transfers and licensed production of major conventional weapons, 1997

IAN ANTHONY, PIETER D. WEZEMAN AND SIEMON T. WEZEMAN

Appendices 8A and 8B provide
data on the transfers of major conventional weapons in 1997.

Appendix 8C. Sources and methods

Appendix 8C
explains the sources and methods for the data collection.