US EditionEurope now world's biggest arms importer, think tank says
Europe accounted for about one-third of global arms imports from 2021-2025, driven by military rebuilding and support for Ukraine amid declining trust in US security commitments.
- Europe has become the world's largest arms importer over the last five years due to Russia's threat and decreasing confidence in U.S. commitments, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
- Arms imports by European countries increased more than threefold from 2016-2020 to supply Ukraine and strengthen their militaries after years of under-investment.
- Europe accounted for 33% of global arms imports, rising from 12% in the previous five-year period.
- Despite ramping up domestic production, European countries continued to purchase U.S. weapons, including combat aircraft and air-defense systems.
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Europe Becomes World’s Biggest Importer of Arms
While Brussels dreams about the great potential of European manufacturing, the reality is that the continent has become the world’s biggest arms importer. That is according to new research from Stockholm’s International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which shows this transition took place over the past five years, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In particular, European states more than trebled their imports of weapons in 2021-2…
Europe stands as the region that has increased its arms imports the most around the world...
The supply of weapons has increased worldwide, and European countries in particular have imported more weapons.
Global arms transactions grew by about 10 percent. Russia’s sales have plummeted by 67 percent.
The war in Ukraine has increased Europe's dependence on arms imports over the past five years, but it could also have contributed to Europe becoming a growing arms producer and exporter, new research shows, Al Jazeera reports.
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