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Where from, where to, how many? We’re talking about guns again. The data show the dimensions of the global armament – and which country plays which role in it.
In the past year, the world has upgraded more than ever before: According to the Swedish research institute Sipri, governments spent a total of more than two trillion US dollars.
The USA invested by far the most money: 800 billion US dollars. This means that almost 40 percent of global arms spending came from American accounts.
The figures also show that in the year before the war began, Ukraine and Russia both increased their arms spending. However, those in Ukraine are not even a tenth as high as those in Russia.
Which weapons are bought? In the past 5 years, flying machines have been the best-selling weapon. 76,000 of them imported countries worldwide.
Rockets, ships and armed vehicles follow at some distance.
Where are these guns going? The biggest buyer over the past 20 years has been India, followed by China and Saudi Arabia.
And who sells them? The United States and Russia are leaders in arms exports.
As a small country, Switzerland is not insignificant when it comes to arms exports. Over the past 20 years, it ranks 14th as an arms exporter.
In addition to conventional weapons, there are the dreaded weapons of mass destruction such as chemical weapons or nuclear weapons.
Nine countries have nuclear warheads. Of these, 90 percent are accounted for by the same major military powers, Russia and the USA.
The research institute Sipri assumes that these are only actually ready for use in these two countries as well as in Great Britain and France would be – but only a part of it.
The Presidents of the USA and Russia, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, renewed their “New Start” disarmament treaty last year. In it, they undertake to limit their nuclear arsenals to 1,550 operational nuclear warheads.