India ranked as world’s top arms importer (2019-23)

A recent report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), stated that India was the world’s top arms importer between 2019 and 2023.

Key Highlights of the SIPRI Report:

Global estimates:

• India was the world’s top arms importer for the period 2019-23 with imports increasing by 4.7% compared to 2014-18 period.
• Arms imports by European countries increased by 94% between 2014–18 and 2019–23.
• For the first time in over 60 years, Russia’s share of India’s weapons imports dropped below 50%, although it remained the top supplier with 36% of arms imports.
• Nine of the 10 biggest arms importers in 2019–23, including the top 3 of India, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, were in Asia and Oceania or the Middle East.
• Ukraine became the fourth biggest arms importer globally after it received transfers of major arms from over 30 states in 2022-23.
• Pakistan was the fifth largest arms importer in 2019–23, which increased by 43%, with China supplying about 82% of all its arms imports.
• Arms exports of the world’s largest supplier, U.S. grew by 17% between 2014–18 and 2019–23, while those by Russia fell by more than half to -53%.
• France emerged as the world’s second largest arms supplier as its exports grew by 47%.
  • The largest single recipient of French arms exports was India, which accounted for nearly 30%.
• The top 10 arms exporting countries are USA (42% of global arms exports), followed by France, Russia, China, German, Italy, UK, Spain, Israel and South Korea.
• Among the top 10 arms exporters, five of them saw a decrease between the two five-year periods.
• About 55% of arms imports by European countries were from the U.S.
• Europe is responsible for about a third of global arms exports, reflecting Europe’s strong military–industrial capacity.

India’s Defence imports:

• The total allocation for the Defence Ministry was at ₹6.2 lakh crore, for the financial year 2024-25.
• The capital allocation for new procurements, was ₹1.72 lakh crore, 5.78% higher than the Budget Estimates of last year.
• India’s arms imports have increased by 4.7% between 2014-18 and 2019-23, and account for 9.8% of global arms sales.
• India’s arms imports stood at 11% of the global arms sales between 2018-22, with a slight decline in the 2019-2023 period- 9.8% of global sales.
• While India occupies a strategically vulnerable position being the world’s largest arms importer, it remains the biggest arms customer for France, Russia and Israel.