USA is #1 Arms Dealer, Exporting 43% of World’s Weapons: 7 Times More Than China, 5 times more than Russia

By Ben Norton / Geopolitical Economy Report

The United States is by far the biggest arms dealer on Earth, responsible for 43% of all weapons exports from 2020 to 2024. The US transferred 7.3 times more weapons than China, and 5.5 times more than Russia. In fact, Russia’s global arms exports declined by 64% from 2020 to 2024, and China’s fell by 5.4%, whereas those of the US grew by 21%.

There were also large increases in weapons exports during this five-year period in Italy (+138%), Spain (+29%), France (+11%), and South Korea (+4.9%).

This is according to data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The 10 largest arms exporters from 2020-24 were the following:

  1. United States (43% of the world)
  2. France (9.6%)
  3. Russia (7.8%)
  4. China (5.9%)
  5. Germany (5.6%)
  6. Italy (4.8%)
  7. United Kingdom (3.6%)
  8. Israel (3.1%)
  9. Spain (3.0%)
  10. South Korea (2.2%)

The top 10 importers of weapons from 2020-24 were the following:

  1. Ukraine (8.8% of the world)
  2. India (8.3%)
  3. Qatar (6.8%)
  4. Saudi Arabia (6.8%)
  5. Pakistan (4.6%)
  6. Japan (3.9%)
  7. Australia (3.5%)
  8. Egypt (3.3%)
  9. United States (3.1%)
  10. Kuwait (2.9%)

The European Commission announced a plan in March to loan €150 billion to EU member states to buy military equipment. Trump knows that an increase in European arms spending will boost demand for weapons and ammunition produced by the US military-industrial complex, and he hopes it can help reduce the enormous US current account deficit (that is, its trade deficit with the rest of the world).

USA is world’s top military spender, by far

In addition to exporting more weapons than any other nation, the United States spends the most on its military, by far. The US represented 37% of global military expenditure in 2023, according to the most recently available data from SIPRI.

This means that the US dedicated more money to its armed forces than the next nine largest spenders combined. The US spent three times more on its military than China, and eight times more than Russia.

The 15 countries with the biggest defense budgets in 2023 were the following:

  1. United States (37% of the world)
  2. China (12%)
  3. Russia (4.5%)
  4. India (3.4%)
  5. Saudi Arabia (3.1%)
  6. United Kingdom (3.1%)
  7. Germany (2.7%)
  8. Ukraine (2.7%)
  9. France (2.5%)
  10. Japan (2.1%)
  11. South Korea (2.0%)
  12. Italy (1.5%)
  13. Australia (1.3%)
  14. Poland (1.3%)
  15. Israel (1.1%)

Read more: https://scheerpost.com/2025/03/14/usa-is-1-arms-dealer-exporting-43-of-worlds-weapons-7-times-more-than-china-5x-russia

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Zionism & Americanism are the front lines of Western civilisation and freedom in our world today: Pete Hegseth US Secretary of Defense

(The USA would be better described as the vanguard of commerce in war + mass death)

SIPRI Arms Transfers Database (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)

Brown University Costs of War Portal

Joe Biden, the National Security State, and Arms Sales

Kelly Denton-Borhaug: The True Costs of America’s All-Consuming War-Culture / Chris Hedges: Chronicle of a War Foretold

Nouriel Roubini: The US is now the focus of global instability

President Eisenhower’s Speech on the American Military Industrial Complex, January 17, 1961

DOUG NEISS – Military might, market ideology and moral posturing: A toxic combination that has poisoned America

The USA’s role in the Ukraine crisis (2022)

Norman Solomon: How the Warfare State Paved the Way for a Trumpist Autocracy