Who Sells the Most Weapons?

The United States was the largest arms exporter between 2018 and 2022, making up 40 percent of all international arms sales, delivering weapons to 103 states. This marks an increase from the 33.0 percent it accounted for between 2013 and 2017.

As this chart shows, Russia followed in second place. The country has seen a fall in its major arms exports over the past years, having accounted for 16.0 percent of global arms exports between 2018-22, down from 22 percent in 2013-17. Most weapons went to India (31 percent), China (23 percent) and Egypt (9.3 percent).

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia’s arms exports are expected to continue to fall in the coming years. The organization's experts attribute this to both a low volume of pending deliveries from other countries as well as the war in Ukraine, which they say will likely put “additional constraints on Russia’s ability to export arms, as it is likely to prioritize the production of arms for its own military over those for export.”

Where France, Italy and Spain grew their arms exports in 2018-22, Germany and the United Kingdom saw decreases. At the same time, according to SIPRI, “most European states substantially increased their arms import orders and the war will have significant ramifications for future supplier–recipient arms trade relations globally.”

The five largest importers in 2018-22 were India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia and China.