Turkey’s arms exports rose by 122 pct in the last 5 years: SIPRI

Turkey’s arms exports increased by 122 percent in the 2021-2025 period compared to the previous five years, making it the world’s 11th largest exporter of major arms, according to a new report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

SIPRI said Turkey accounted for 1.8 percent of global arms exports in 2021-2025. Pakistan was the largest buyer of Turkish arms, taking 16 percent of Turkey’s total exports, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 12 percent and Ukraine with 8.4 percent.

The report also showed that Turkey was the world’s 24th largest arms importer during the same period. Turkey’s share of global arms imports fell from 1.5 percent in 2016-2020 to 1.2 percent in 2021-2025, a decline of 9.7 percent. Its main suppliers were Germany, Spain and Italy, which accounted for 31 percent, 29 percent and 19 percent of Turkey’s imports, respectively.

According to SIPRI, the volume of international transfers of major arms rose 9.2 percent in 2021-2025 compared to the previous five-year period, marking the biggest increase since 2011-2015.

Europe recorded the sharpest rise in arms imports, which jumped 210 percent and reached 33 percent of the global total. SIPRI said this was the first time since the 1960s that Europe accounted for the largest share of global arms imports.

The United States remained the world’s largest arms exporter, with its global share rising to 42 percent. It was followed by France, Russia, Germany and China. Together, those five countries accounted for 70 percent of global arms exports.

Turkey also emerged as a major supplier to sub-Saharan Africa. SIPRI said Turkey ranked third in arms exports to the region after China and Russia, accounting for 11 percent of total imports there.

The report said the security situation in Europe continued to reshape global arms transfers. Imports by NATO’s European members rose sharply after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The United States accounted for 58 percent of major arms imports by European NATO states in 2021-2025.

SIPRI researchers said threat perceptions related to Russia, combined with uncertainty about Washington’s long-term commitment to European defense, had boosted demand for arms across Europe.

Russia’s share of global arms exports fell sharply, from 21 percent in 2016-2020 to 6.8 percent in 2021-2025. Its overall exports dropped by 64 percent during the period.

By contrast, France increased its arms exports by 21 percent, Germany by 15 percent and Italy by 157 percent.

The report also said Israel ranked as the world’s seventh largest arms exporter, accounting for 4.4 percent of global exports. Israeli arms exports rose 56 percent compared to the previous five-year period. India was the biggest buyer of Israeli arms with a 29 percent share, followed by Germany with 21 percent and the United States with 7.8 percent.

At the same time, Israel’s arms imports rose 12 percent. It ranked 14th among the world’s largest arms importers, with 68 percent of its imports coming from the United States and 31 percent from Germany.

Ukraine was the world’s largest arms importer in 2021-2025, accounting for 9.7 percent of global imports. It was followed by India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan.