United States
As of 2023, the United States is the world’s largest arms exporter, accounting for 40% of global arms exports between 2018–2022. This is a 24 percentage point increase from 2013–2017, when the US accounted for 33% of global arms exports. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Raytheon are the companies that dominate the US defense industry.
- The top 10 importers of US arms in 2018-22 were Saudia Arabia (19 %), Japan (8.6%), Australia (8.4%), Qatar (6.7%), South Korea (6.5%) Kuwait (4.8%), the UK (4. 6%), UAE ( 4.4%), the Netherlands (4.4%) and Norway (4.2%).
- There are two major ways foreign governments purchase arms from U.S. companies: Direct commercial sales negotiated with a company, or foreign military sales in which a government typically contacts a Defense Department official at the U.S. embassy in its capital. Both require U.S. government approval.
- In fiscal year 2023, direct military sales by U.S. companies increased to $157.5 billion, up from $153.6 billion in fiscal 2022.
- Sales arranged through the U.S. government rose to $80.9 billion in 2023, a significant increase from $51.9 billion the preceding year.
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Top 10 Largest Arms Exporters in the World [2024]
Arms exports are the export of military and dual-use items to other nations. Dual-use items can be used for both military and civilian purposes. In 2018–2022, the five largest arms exporters were the United States, Russia, France, China, and Germany. Together, they supplied 76% of the world’s arms exports in 2018–2022.
In this article, we will discuss the top 10 arms-exporting countries in the world along with their total export and trading partners.