World’s Top 10 Arms buyers: Where does India rank? Russia’s rival takes Massive lead, Pakistan ranks at…, US stands in…

New Delhi: India is the second-largest arms importer in the world. However, there has been a major change in the country occupying the top spot on this list. Until now, Saudi Arabia held this position, but it has now been replaced. Here in this article, we have listed the names of countries who are top arms importer in the world, according to SIPRI’s (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute).

Ukraine

  • The world’s largest arms-importing countries during the 2020–24 period is Ukraine
  • Owing to the current war with Russia, Zelensky has bought a huge quantity of weapons from the United States and other Western nations.

India

  • Accounting for 8.3 percent of global arms imports, India is the second-largest arms importer
  • A 9.3 percent decline was marked compared to the previous five-year period (2015–2019).
  • This drop is partly due to India’s growing capability to design and produce its own weapons, reducing its dependence on foreign imports.

Qatar

  • Qatar is the third-largest arms importer globally between 2020 and 2024
  • Qatar accounts for 6.8 percent of global arms imports.
  • The primary source of these weapons is the United States, which is also the world’s largest arms exporter.

Saudi Arabia

  • Saudi Arabia is the fourth-largest importer of weapons. However, its imports have declined in recent years.
  • The United States is its primary supplier, followed by Spain and France.
  • Despite the decrease in imports, Saudi Arabia remains one of the world’s leading arms importers.

Pakistan

  • Pakistan is the fifth-largest importer of weapons.
  • Despite facing economic hardship, the country has continued large-scale arms imports and remains in the top five.
  • During the period 2020–24, China was the largest arms supplier to Pakistan, accounting for 81% of its total imports, followed by the Netherlands at 5.5% and Turkey at 3.8%.

Japan

  • Japan was the sixth-largest arms importer globally, accounting for 3.9% of the world’s total arms imports between 2020 and 2024 .
  • Most of these imports came from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
  • Compared to the period from 2015 to 2019, Japan’s arms imports increased by 93% between 2020 and 2024.

Australia

  • Between 2020 and 2024, Australia was among the world’s top 10 largest importers of major arms, accounting for 3.5% of global arms imports.
  • The majority of these imports—around 80%—came from the United States, while Spain was the second-largest supplier.
  • Key imports included ships, aircraft, helicopters, and missile defense systems.

Egypt

  • Egypt was the eighth-largest arms importer in the world.
  • Between 2020 and 2024, Egypt reduced its arms imports by 44 percent compared to the 2015–2019 period.
  • During 2015–2019, more than half of Egypt’s imports consisted of aircraft — mainly Russian and French fighter jets and Russian helicopters.

United States

  • According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the United States is the ninth-largest arms importer in the world.
  • The U.S. has primarily purchased weapons from countries such as the United Kingdom, Israel, and Germany.
  • While the U.S. is the world’s largest arms exporter, it still relies on imports for certain specialized equipment and technologies.

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