Global arms exports in 2017-2021 decreased by 4.6% compared to the previous 5 years, but in this period, Europe's arms exports increased by 19%, according to a report published by the International Institute for Peace Research (SIPRI).
Europe is a new hot spot, Siemon Wezeman, co-author of SIPRIs annual report, told AFP.
"We are spending a lot of money on military. We need new weapons, and most of them will come from imports," the senior researcher said. According to him, the weapons come from other European countries and the US.
Germany, Denmark and Sweden have both announced plans to increase military spending.
In the context of Russia launching a military campaign in Ukraine, European countries plan to increase their military presence by adding fighter jets such as the US F-35, missiles, artillery and other heavy weapons.
"Most of these weapons need a little time, go through a process, make a decision, place an order, and produce. This usually takes at least a few years," said Mr. Wezeman.
According to SIPRI experts, the trend of increasing defense spending really started after Russia's occupation of Crimea in 2014, and the impacts have been seen at the present time.
Europe's share of global arms trade has increased from 10 to 13% over the past five years and will increase "significantly," Wezeman said.
The unpublished nature of many unpaid arms contracts and sponsorship makes it difficult for experts to give accurate figures on world arms trafficking activities. However, global arms sales are estimated at nearly $100 billion a year.
According to SIPRI, Asia and the ocean have remained the main arms importer region for the past five years, accounting for 43% of arms transfers and the six largest importers in the world: India, Australia, China, South Korea, Pakistan and Japan.
While arms imports to the world's most populous region have decreased by about 5% in the past 5 years, East Asia and the ocean have had strong growth, respectively 20 and 59%.
In the Middle East, the second largest market, accounting for 32% of total global arms imports, the increase is 3%, mainly due to investments in Qatar in the context of tensions with neighboring countries in the Gulf region.
"Current oil prices mean a lot of income and that often translates into large arms orders," Wezeman noted.
Meanwhile, the Americas and Africa recorded sharp declines in arms imports, respectively, at 36% and 34%, accounting for about 6% of total global arms imports.
By country, India and Saudi Arabia are the largest arms importers, accounting for 11%, followed by Egypt (5.7%), Australia (5.4%) and China (4.8%).
In the group of leading arms exporters in the world, the US leads with 39%. Russia remains in second place despite a market share of 19.9% over the past five years, largely due to a decline in Chinese imports. China is currently almost completely independent of Russian weapons.
sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian war could put further pressure on the country's arms industry in the future.
France is the third largest exportator with 11%, while China and Germany hold 4th and 5th place respectively with 4.6 and 4.5%.
