Who arms whom: the global arms trade, 2021–2025
Every figure on this page comes directly from SIPRI, Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2025 (published 9 Mar 2026) — nothing here is estimated. Shares are SIPRI’s own Trend-Indicator Value (TIV), a volume-based measure of the military significance of a transfer, not a dollar figure — so these are not the same as revenue-based “top defense exporter” rankings you may see elsewhere. Supplier and recipient breakdowns are each country’s top 3 as SIPRI itself publishes them; smaller partners beyond the top 3 aren’t broken out in the source, so the percentages don’t sum to 100%.
Top recipients
- Saudi Arabia12% of its exports
- Ukraine9.4% of its exports
- Japan8.9% of its exports
- Europe38%
- Middle East33%
- Asia & Oceania26%
Top recipients
- India29% of its exports
- Germany21% of its exports
- United States7.8% of its exports
- Europe41%
- Asia & Oceania40%
- Americas8.6%
- Africa7.7%
Top recipients
- Poland58% of its exports
- Philippines18% of its exports
- United Arab Emirates9.5% of its exports
Main suppliers
- United States41% of its imports
- Germany14% of its imports
- Poland9.4% of its imports
Main suppliers
- United States48% of its imports
- Italy21% of its imports
- United Kingdom17% of its imports
Main suppliers
- China80% of its imports
- Turkey7% of its imports
- Netherlands4.6% of its imports
Main suppliers
- United States95% of its imports
- United Kingdom3.4% of its imports
- Norway0.9% of its imports
Main suppliers
- South Korea47% of its imports
- United States44% of its imports
- Italy2.2% of its imports
Main suppliers
- United States85% of its imports
- Spain6.5% of its imports
- Germany4% of its imports
Main suppliers
- United States42% of its imports
- France18% of its imports
- South Korea10% of its imports
Main suppliers
- United States85% of its imports
- Israel8.2% of its imports
- Germany2.7% of its imports
Main suppliers
- United States68% of its imports
- Germany31% of its imports
- Italy1.3% of its imports
Main suppliers
- United States89% of its imports
- Romania4.8% of its imports
- Sweden2.1% of its imports
Main suppliers
- United States93% of its imports
- United Kingdom3.5% of its imports
- Israel1.8% of its imports
Main suppliers
- Israel55% of its imports
- United States37% of its imports
- Sweden2.8% of its imports
Main suppliers
- France68% of its imports
- United States17% of its imports
- Italy4.4% of its imports
Main suppliers
- United States93% of its imports
- Denmark1.8% of its imports
- Italy1.7% of its imports
Other findings from the same report
- Global arms transfer volume rose 9.2% in 2021-2025 vs. 2016-2020 -- the biggest jump since 2011-2015.
- 66 states supplied major arms in 2021-2025.
- For the first time in two decades, Europe (38%) was the top destination for US arms exports, not the Middle East.
- Combined arms imports of the 29 current European NATO members grew 143% between the two periods, with the US supplying 58% of that.
- Over half (54%) of Middle Eastern states' arms imports in 2021-2025 came from the USA.
Source: SIPRI, Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2025 (published 9 Mar 2026). See the full fact sheet (PDF) for every supplier/recipient breakdown SIPRI publishes, and SIPRI’s full Arms Transfers Database for transfer-level detail beyond what this fact sheet summarizes.