MOSCOW (Bernama-Sputnikk/RIA Novosti) – Poland, Romania and India topped the world ranking of the largest arms-buying countries in 2024, the Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) told Sputnik/RIA Novosti.
The rankings, in descending order, are Poland – USD15.625 billion (12.8 per cent), Romania – USD10.251 billion (8.4 per cent), India – USD9.410 billion (7.71 per cent), Israel – USD8.2 billion (6.72 per cent), Netherlands – USD7.922 billion (6.49 per cent), Turkiye – USD7 billion (5.73 per cent), Iraq – USD5.189 billion (4.25 per cent), South Korea – USD3.611 billion (2.96 per cent), Saudi Arabia – USD3.605 billion (2.95 per cent), and Indonesia – USD3.519 billion (2.88 per cent).
The rating takes into account only commercial contracts signed by importing countries in 2024 for the purchase of weapons and military equipment in US dollars at current prices.
In 2024, the volume of contracts concluded for the import of conventional weapons (according to the classification of the UN Register) amounted to USD122 billion, according to CAWAT. The volume of global identified (officially confirmed) contracts concluded for the import of weapons amounted to USD110.11 billion in 2021, USD125.95 billion in 2022, and a record USD152.087 billion in 2023.
