Russia entered the list of world's biggest arms exporters, a report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says. The Russian Federation is rated second, selling 25% of the total amount of weapons sold in the last five years. In the United States, which took the first place, this figure amounts to 33%. China is rated third (5.9%).
As noted in the commentary, since 2004 the volume of arms trade grew steadily, and in the period of 2011-2015, compared to the previous five-year period, it has increased by 14%. In 2011-2015, the largest exporters are the United States, Russia, China, France and Germany. These countries account for 74% of total sales in this sphere. In 2011-2015, the Russian Federation, compared to 2006-2010, increased its arms exports by 28%, and its share in the global weapon trade in the last 5 years amounted to 25%. At the same time, sales slightly decreased in 2014 and 2015, returning to the level of 2006-2010.
The report also notes that from 2011 to 2015, Russia supplied weapons to 50 countries. The main buyers of Russian products are India (39%), China (11%) and Vietnam (11%), Interfax reports.
Regionally, Asia and Oceania dominated in the export structure, their collective share in 2011-2015 amounted to 68% of supplies. Africa's share amounted to 11%, the Middle East - 8.2% and Europe - 6.4%. European sales increased by 264%, mainly due to supplies to Azerbaijan, which, in the analyzed period, amounted to 4.9% of the total export volume. In the previous period, 2006-2010, this figure amounted only to 0.7%.
In the Middle East, the growth of military purchases in the analyzed period was marked at the level of 61%. In 2011-2015, Saudi Arabia takes second place among world's arms importers. Compared to the period of 2006-2010, supplies from foreign producers increased by 275%. In the UAE, the growth rate amounted to 35%, while in Qatar it was 279%. Egypt increased its arms imports by 37%. This primarily occurred due to a sharp activization in 2015. Supplies of weapons to Iraq in 2011-2015 increased by 83% compared to 2006-2010.
