THE US share of global arms exports has risen to 40 per cent, according to a report published today.

The US has long been the world’s leading exporter of military equipment, but its share of the deadly trade grew by 14 per cent between 2013–17 and 2018–22, says the report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The report, titled Trends in International Arms Transfers, revealed that the US had sold arms to 103 states in the last five-year period, almost as many as the next two biggest exporters combined.

The five largest military equipment exporters are the US, Russia, France, China and Germany, which together account for over three-quarters (76 per cent) of all arms exports.

While much of the world appears to be disarming, Europe is doing the opposite, with purchases from the US increasing by 47 per cent, the institute said.

The US, France and South Korea accounted for most weapons sales to Nato states in Europe over the period covered by the report.

The US, Germany, Poland, and Britain sold mostly second-hand weapons to Ukraine over the last year, the report says, and the war in Ukraine has had a limited impact on the total volume of arms sold.

According to the institute, the US sold military equipment of a greater value to Japan, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, arms sales from European Nato countries grew by 65 per cent.

France recorded a massive 44 per increase, taking its share of the world total from 7.1 per cent to 11 per cent, mainly due to exports to the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.

While arms sales in Europe are soaring, overall global levels have decreased by 5.1 per cent, including a reduction in Chinese sales of 23 per cent.

Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher with the institute’s Arms Transfers Programme and one of the report’s authors, said: “Even as arms transfers have declined globally, those to Europe have risen sharply due to tensions between Russia and most other European states.” 

Not included in the figures was the announcement earlier this month that the US has approved a massive arms sale to the breakaway Chinese island of Taiwan worth $619 million (£509m).

The US is Taiwan’s main supplier of weaponry.

In response China’s Foreign Ministry said that the level of the country’s arms sales to Russia would be the same as US sales to Taiwan.