Europe has emerged as the world’s biggest arms importer over the past five years, as governments increased military spending in response to Russia’s growing threat and declining confidence in U.S. security commitments, according to new data released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The report showed that European countries more than tripled their arms imports during the 2021–2025 period compared with 2016–2020. The surge was driven largely by efforts to support Ukraine in its war against Russia and to rebuild national militaries after decades of limited defence investment.
Mathew George, Director of SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Programme, said the sharp rise in arms shipments to Europe helped push global arms transfers up by nearly 10 percent.
According to the study, Europe accounted for 33 percent of total global arms imports during the latest five-year period, a significant jump from just 12 percent in the previous cycle.
Despite increasing domestic weapons production, many European countries continued to rely heavily on American military equipment, particularly advanced fighter jets and long-range air-defence systems.
In contrast, arms imports by Middle Eastern countries fell by 13 percent during the same period, although Saudi Arabia and Qatar remained among the world’s top four individual arms buyers.
SIPRI senior researcher Pieter Wezeman explained that the decline largely reflects the impact of massive Saudi arms orders placed during the earlier period, which are still being delivered and integrated into the country’s military.
He noted that even before the latest conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, countries in the region had already placed major new weapons orders that are not yet reflected in the data.
The ongoing tensions are expected to drive further military procurement, particularly in missile defence and air-defence systems. According to Wezeman, countries are likely to replace weapons already used and invest in additional equipment to strengthen their defensive capabilities.
The report also highlighted a growing dominance by the United States in the global arms export market. America’s share of global weapons exports rose to 42 percent, up from 36 percent in the previous five-year period.
France ranked as the second-largest arms exporter, accounting for 9.8 percent of global sales. Meanwhile, Russia’s share dropped sharply to 6.8 percent from 21 percent following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Overall, European countries collectively accounted for 28 percent of global arms exports—roughly four times Russia’s share and five times that of China.