Arms imports by European countries more than tripled over the past five years, making the region the world’s largest recipient of major weapons as global transfers rose sharply, according to new data released on March 9 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

European countries, including Ukraine, accounted for 33% of global arms imports in 2021-25, with the volume of deliveries to the region rising by 210% compared with 2016-20, SIPRI said. The surge helped push overall global arms transfers up by 9.2% during the period.

“While tensions and conflicts in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East continue to drive large-scale arms imports, the sharp increase in arms flows to European states pushed global arms transfers up almost 10 per cent,” said Mathew George, director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.

Ukraine alone received 9.7% of all arms transferred globally in 2021-25, reflecting Western military support following Russia’s invasion in 2022. Poland and the United Kingdom were the next-largest importers in Europe during the period.

“Deliveries to Ukraine since 2022 are the most obvious factor, but most other European states have also started importing significantly more arms to shore up their military capabilities against a perceived growing threat from Russia,” George said.

The US remained the world’s largest arms exporter, increasing its share of global exports to 42% in 2021-25 from 36% in the previous five-year period.

“The USA has further cemented its dominance as an arms supplier, even in an increasingly multipolar world,” said Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.

“For importers, US arms offer advanced capabilities and a way of fostering good relations with the USA, while the USA views arms exports as a tool of foreign policy and a way of strengthening its arms industry,” he added.

For the first time in two decades, Europe became the largest destination for U.S. arms exports, accounting for 38%, ahead of the Middle East with 33%.

European Nato members significantly boosted their purchases, with the alliance’s 29 European members increasing arms imports by 143% over the period. The United States supplied 58% of these imports.

“European states continued to import US arms in 2021-25, especially combat aircraft and long-range air defence systems,” said Katarina Djokic, researcher with SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Programme.

France ranked as the world’s second-largest arms exporter with 9.8% of global exports, followed by Russia, whose exports fell sharply by 64%, reducing its share to 6.8%.

Germany became the fourth-largest exporter, while Italy recorded one of the fastest increases in exports, rising by 157%.

Outside Europe, arms imports declined in several regions, including Asia and Oceania, where imports fell by 20% partly due to a sharp drop in China’s purchases. The Middle East also saw imports fall by 13%, although countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar remained among the world’s largest buyers.