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The 10 Countries That Buy the Most Weapons |
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SIPRI published its 2026 arms-transfer data in March. Rank the world's weapons buyers over 2021–25 and, for the first time, a country at war sits on top. Ukraine took 9.7% of all arms imported — up from 0.1% before Russia invaded. |
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Source: SIPRI, Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2025 (released March 9, 2026). Share of global arms imports by volume, 2021–2025. |
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| What's Surprising |
Ukraine bought almost nothing before 2022. Its share of the world's arms imports was 0.1%. Over 2021–25 it hit 9.7%, the largest of any country. At least 36 states sent it weapons. The United States supplied 41%.
The country that sells the most weapons barely buys them. The US makes 42% of the world's arms exports, first by a wide margin. As a buyer it sits 8th, at 2.9%. It builds almost everything it fields at home.
The rest of the chart is war and its neighbors. Poland arms against Russia. Japan against China. Saudi Arabia and Qatar against Iran. The biggest buyers are the most afraid.
| What's Not Surprising |
Europe is rearming. Its imports rose 210% between the two five-year periods, to a third of the world total — its biggest share since the 1960s. Nearly half of it comes from the United States.
India ranks 2nd again, at 8.2%, even after a 4% dip. It has leaned on foreign arms for decades and still can't build enough at home. Pakistan, 5th, buys 80% of its weapons from China.
China has left the table. Its own imports fell 72%, dropping it to 21st — outside the top 10 for the first time since the early 1990s. It supplies others now instead of buying.
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97× Ukraine's arms imports grew from 0.1% of the world total to 9.7% in five years. War made it the biggest buyer on Earth. |
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42% The US share of all weapons exported worldwide, No. 1 by far. As a buyer it ranks only 8th. It sells; it seldom buys. |
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72% The drop in China's arms imports. It fell to 21st, out of the top 10 for the first time since the early 1990s. |
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210% The rise in Europe's arms imports between 2016–20 and 2021–25. The continent now takes a third of the world's weapons. |
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36 The number of states that have sent major arms to Ukraine. The United States supplied 41% of them. |
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SIPRI updates these numbers every March. A ceasefire in Ukraine would cut its imports fast, and India or a rearming European state would take the top spot. Europe's orders are placed but not all delivered, so its share is set to climb again before it falls. And watch whether the US, the seller, ever again needs to become a big buyer. We'll be watching. |
