The United States and Russia remain the world’s largest arms exporters
The United States and Russia remain the world’s largest exporters of weapons. Their joint share in world exports amounted to 5% during the period from 2012 to 2016, RIA Novosti reported, citing a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
According to SIPRI’s rating, the United States was ranked first among the five largest arms suppliers. Its share made up 33% of the total volume of global arms export. SIPRI’s analysts indicated that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey are America’s main customers.
Over the past five years, Washington has supplied weapons to at least 100 countries. Russia holds the second place in the list of the largest arms exporters. Its share in the international arms export is 23%. India, Vietnam and China have become Russia’s main partners over the past five years. In total, Moscow has supplied weapons to 50 countries from 2012 to 2016.
According to SIPRI, China took third place among the largest exporters (its share of world exports is 6.2%), then France (6%), and Germany (5.6%) took fifth place.