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According to a recent study, much of the increase in arms imports by European countries from 2019 to 2023 was due to large arms transfers to Ukraine in 2022 and 2023.
advertisementEuropean countries nearly doubled their arms imports between 2014-2018 and 2019-2023, increasing arms purchases by 94% during the observation period, according to a new study from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). I let it happen.
Much of this increase was due to arms transfers to Ukraine, which is still fighting Russian aggression and received 23% of the region’s 2019-2023 arms imports in 2022-2023. .
Two European countries, France and Italy, also significantly increased their exports during the same period, finding willing buyers in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Perhaps surprisingly, if we look at the current situation in Europe and the rest of the world with the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts, global international arms transfers decreased by only 3.3% between 2014-2018 and 2019-2023. did.
Who is Europe buying its weapons from?
Europe’s largest importer was by far Ukraine, accounting for 23% of all European imports from 2019 to 2023. The next largest importing countries were the UK (11% of all European imports) and the Netherlands (9.0%).
The majority of 55% of arms imports by European countries from 2019 to 2023 came from the United States, and exports to Europe increased by 35% compared to the previous analysis from 2014 to 2018. The other main weapons imported into Europe between 2019 and 2023 came from Asia, Oceania and the Middle East.
“Many factors influence the decisions of European NATO members to import from the United States, including the goal of maintaining transatlantic relations alongside more technical, military, and cost-related issues.” SIPRI Director Dan Smith explained in a press release. “If transatlantic relations change in the coming years, European countries’ arms procurement policies may also change.”
After the United States, the countries with the highest approval ratings were Germany (6.4%) and France (4.6%).
Increase in French arms exports
The United States and France currently dominate global arms exports, with Washington increasing exports by 17% between 2014-2018 and 2019-2023, and Paris increasing by 47% over the same period.
The United States alone accounts for 42% of total global arms exports, delivering arms to 107 states between 2019 and 2023, more than any other major exporter. Meanwhile, the increase in French arms exports was mainly due to deliveries of fighter aircraft to India, Qatar, and Egypt.
For the first time, France has surpassed Russia on the list of the world’s largest arms exporters, taking second place compared to Russia’s third place. This is because while French exports increased, Russian exports halved (-53%) during the same period. Russia exported to 31 states in 2019, but by 2023 the number has decreased to just 12 states.
The largest share (42%) of France’s arms exports went to countries in Asia and Oceania, and the remaining 34% went to countries in the Middle East.
France’s largest arms export partner was India, accounting for nearly 30% of total exports. The country was the world’s largest arms importer from 2019 to 2023, with Russia still the main supplier, accounting for 36% of total imports.
“France is taking advantage of the opportunity of strong global demand to strengthen its arms industry through exports,” said Katarina Jokic, a researcher at SIPRI. “France has been particularly successful in selling fighter jets outside Europe,” she said.
Arms exports have increased over the past three years, including to other European countries. In Italy, arms exports increased by 86%, and in South Korea by 12%.
China’s arms exports fell by 5.3%, Germany and the UK by 14%, Spain by 2.2% and Israel by 25%.
Who does Europe sell weapons to?
Western Europe together with the United States accounted for 72% of all arms exports from 2019 to 2023, and Europe alone accounted for about one-third of global arms exports, including large exports outside the region.
A total of five European countries (excluding Russia) are in the world’s top 10 largest exporters, including France (2nd), Germany (5th), Italy (6th), the UK (7th) and Spain (8th). Ta. ). The Netherlands was ranked 12th, followed by Sweden (13th), Poland (14th), Switzerland (17th), Ukraine (18th), Norway (19th), Belgium (22nd) and Belarus (23rd). .
advertisementFrom 2019 to 2023, around 30% of international arms transfers went to the Middle East, with the top three countries in the region being Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt. The majority of arms imports by Middle Eastern countries come from the United States (52%), followed by France (12%), Italy (10%), and Germany (7.1%).
From 2019 to 2023, the largest importers were India, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, followed by Ukraine, while Ukraine received large-scale arms transfers from more than 30 countries from 2022 to 2023.
The US and Germany account for 69% and 30% of Israel’s arms imports, respectively, and Israel is currently engaged in a deadly war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 30,000 people, most of them civilians. did.
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