SIPRI peace researchers record increase in arms sales

US B-1B bombers take part in military exercises by South Korean forces in November.

Handout/Getty Images AsiaPac

(dpa)

Despite pandemic-related supply chain problems, global arms sales continued to rise in the year leading up to the Ukraine war. The world’s 100 largest defense companies sold $592 billion worth of heavy weapons and military services in 2021, the Stockholm Peace Research Institute Sipri said in a report published on Monday. This meant a currency-adjusted increase of 1.9 percent compared to the previous year. The renewed increase was higher than in 2020, but was below the average increase in the four years before the corona pandemic.

According to Sipri, by far the most armaments continue to come from US companies. The 40 American companies listed – including the top five in the ranking – account for a total of 51 percent of all arms sales among the 100 leading corporations. China follows in second place with a sharply increased share of 18 percent, followed at some distance by Great Britain (6.8 percent) and France (4.9 percent). Germany has a share of 1.6 percent.

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