Which country receives the most heavy weapons in the world?

The latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on arms exports shows that the recipients have changed significantly, reflecting major geopolitical shifts.

Ukrainian soldiers fire from a Leopard 1A5 tank during a drill in Zaporizhzhia on February 5.

DW on March 10 cited a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI - Sweden) showing that Ukraine was the world's largest recipient of heavy weapons in the 2020-2024 period.

The number of weapons imported by Ukraine increased nearly 100 times compared to the period 2015-2019. There were 35 countries supplying weapons to Ukraine in the period 2020-2024, accounting for about 8.8% of total global exports, of which the US accounted for 45%, followed by Germany (12%) and Poland (11%).

During the same period, arms imports from other European countries increased by 155%, due to the impact of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. According to researchers at SIPRI, the increase was also due to the unpredictability of the direction of US foreign policy.

The United States remains the world's largest arms exporter, supplying 107 countries. "The United States is in a unique position when it comes to arms exports. At 43%, its share of global arms exports is more than four times that of the second-largest exporter, France," said Mathew George, one of the report's authors.

In contrast, Russia's arms exports fell in 2021 and 2022 to their lowest level in two decades.

Arms imports by countries in the Middle East decreased by 20% in the period 2020-2024 compared to the period 2015-2019.

However, four of the 10 largest arms importers from 2020-2024 are Gulf states, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait.

The top 10 importing countries also include four countries in the Asia and Oceania region, including India, Pakistan, Japan and Australia.

The report found that Israel's imports changed little from 2015 to 2024 as the country mainly used the weapons it had already received, mainly from the US.

China's arms imports have fallen by nearly two-thirds over the past five years, increasingly replaced by domestic technology, the South China Morning Post reported.

Previously, a SIPRI report in December 2024 showed that the revenue of the world's 100 largest arms companies increased by 4.2% to about 632 billion USD in 2023 alone.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nuoc-nao-nhan-vu-khi-hang-nang-nhieu-nhat-the-gioi-185250310101904334.htm