A 5% increase in the global arms sales – SIPRI

According to a new report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in 2018, the global arms sale has increased by 5% in the market dominated by the US. As per the report, the turnover of the top 100 of the biggest arms manufacturers is 420 billion USD. The US arms manufacturers alone account for 59% of the market with a turnover of $246 billion. This is a 7.2% increase when compared to the last year’s turnover. Russia stands second in the ranking of the top arms producing countries. It holds 8.6% of the market. It is followed by the UK (8.4%) and France (5.5%). This report does not include China due to the insufficiency of data. However, it was estimated that about 3 to 7 Chinese companies are among the top 100 manufacturers. China has spent 1.9% of its GDP since 2013. The global arms sales increase is due to the domestic demand and the continuous growth exports of arms to other countries.