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Arms Transfers: U.S. and Russia’s Biggest Trading Partners

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This graphic highlights trade partners for U.S. and Russia arms transfers

Arms Transfers: U.S. and Russia’s Biggest Trading Partners

The increase in conflicts worldwide, including in Ukraine and the Middle East, has shifted global focus back onto arms transfers between countries.

For decades, countries proficient in arms manufacturing have supplied weapons to other countries in demand of them. At the helm of these trades are the U.S. and Russia, which have accounted for 57% of all international arms trades in the last 10 years.

So who are the largest importers of arms from these two countries, and what is the military value of these trades?

With the help of data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) arms transfer database, the above infographic by Ruben Berge Mathisen visualizes the top 50 biggest arms recipients by value for both the U.S. and Russia in the last decade.

The Military Valuation of Arms Transfers

The military valuation of arms is measured in terms of trend-indicator values (TIV). This valuation reflects the military capability of a particular item rather than its financial value.

Every weapon that falls under the conventional definition of major arms is allotted a TIV. The following are the most common weapons and components to be assigned a TIV.

  • Aircraft and armored vehicles
  • Artillery (>100mm in caliber)
  • Sensors and guided missiles, large air defense guns, torpedoes, and bombs
  • 100mm caliber artillery-armed ships (>100-tonne displacement)
  • Reconnaissance satellites and air refueling systems

Instead of focusing on budget, examining TIV makes it easier to measure trends in the flow of arms between particular countries and regions over time, essentially creating a military capability price index.

Biggest Recipients of U.S. Armaments

The United States is the largest exporter of arms globally, responsible for 35% of global exports over the last 10 years to about 130 nations.

Most recently, the biggest market for U.S. arms sales has been in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia being the most prominent recipient of weapons. Over the last decade, the country has purchased 24% of total U.S. arms exports, with components worth over 18 billion TIVs.

Here is a look at the top 50 recipients of arms from the United States:

U.S. Arms Transfer RecipientContinentTIV (Millions)
🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaAsia18,641
🇦🇺 AustraliaOceania8,668
🇰🇷 South KoreaAsia7,207
🇦🇪 UAEAsia7,190
🇯🇵 JapanAsia5,026
🇮🇳 IndiaAsia4,614
🇬🇧 United KingdomEurope4,332
🇶🇦 QatarAsia4,235
🇹🇼 TaiwanAsia3,789
🇹🇷 TurkeyAsia3,722
🇮🇶 IraqAsia3,532
🇮🇱 IsraelAsia3,460
🇸🇬 SingaporeAsia2,571
🇦🇫 AfghanistanAsia2,547
🇪🇬 EgyptAfrica2,334
🇮🇹 ItalyEurope2,281
🇲🇦 MoroccoAfrica2,281
🇳🇴 NorwayEurope2,196
🇳🇱 NetherlandsEurope2,060
🇰🇼 KuwaitAsia1,900
🇨🇦 CanadaAmericas1,806
🇵🇰 PakistanAsia1,070
🇮🇩 IndonesiaAsia982
🇲🇽 MexicoAmericas782
🇴🇲 OmanAsia779
🇯🇴 JordanAsia675
🇩🇰 DenmarkEurope548
🇧🇷 BrazilAmericas510
🇸🇪 SwedenEurope505
🇨🇴 ColombiaAmericas472
🇵🇭 PhilippinesAsia450
🇫🇷 FranceEurope438
🇫🇮 FinlandEurope389
🇬🇷 GreeceEurope359
🇱🇧 LebanonAsia350
🇹🇭 ThailandAsia342
🇵🇱 PolandEurope336
🇨🇱 ChileAmericas335
🇪🇸 SpainEurope292
🇷🇴 RomaniaEurope275
🇹🇳 TunisiaAfrica251
🇩🇪 GermanyEurope221
🇧🇭 BahrainAsia187
🇵🇹 PortugalEurope179
🇳🇬 NigeriaAfrica154
🇳🇿 New ZealandOceania150
🇧🇩 BangladeshAsia123
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandEurope117
🇻🇳 VietnamAsia108
🇦🇷 ArgentinaAmericas103

The U.S. remains the biggest global exporter of weapons globally, however, sales of military equipment to foreign countries dipped by 21% over the previous fiscal year, dropping from $175 billion in 2020 to $138 billion in 2021.

Biggest Recipients of Russian Armaments

Russia, the world’s second-largest arms dealer, was responsible for 22% of global arms exports between 2011 and 2021.

In terms of TIVs, India remains the biggest importer of Russian weapons by a wide margin. India’s dependency on Russian-made arms is driven by its fight to quell the military assertiveness of China on one side and its constant skirmishes along the Pakistani border on the other.

But despite the continued support of Russia and its President by the Indian Prime Minister, even in the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine, some reports have shown that India has been looking elsewhere for arms in the last few years.

Let’s take a look at some of the other biggest importers of Russian arms around the world:

Russian Arms Transfer RecipientContinentTIV (Millions)
🇮🇳 IndiaAsia22,869
🇨🇳 ChinaAsia9,419
🇩🇿 AlgeriaAfrica7,235
🇻🇳 VietnamAsia5,554
🇪🇬 EgyptAfrica3,998
🇮🇶 IraqAsia2,015
🇦🇿 AzerbaijanAsia1,967
🇰🇿 KazakhstanAsia1,841
🇻🇪 VenezuelaAmericas1,743
🇸🇾 SyriaAsia1,729
🇧🇾 BelarusEurope1,190
🇲🇲 MyanmarAsia856
🇺🇬 UgandaAfrica611
🇦🇪 UAEAsia578
🇦🇴 AngolaAfrica501
🇮🇩 IndonesiaAsia490
🇮🇷 IranAsia476
🇧🇩 BangladeshAsia454
🇦🇫 AfghanistanAsia441
🇵🇰 PakistanAsia437
🇦🇲 ArmeniaAsia373
🇹🇷 TurkeyAsia344
🇹🇲 TurkmenistanAsia307
🇷🇸 SerbiaEurope296
🇳🇬 NigeriaAfrica249
🇸🇩 SudanAfrica244
🇵🇪 PeruAmericas221
🇯🇴 JordanAsia204
🇲🇳 MongoliaAsia171
🇺🇿 UzbekistanAsia156
🇳🇮 NicaraguaAmericas121
🇱🇦 LaosAsia118
🇰🇼 KuwaitAsia113
🇧🇷 BrazilAmericas98
🇸🇸 South SudanAfrica82
🇲🇱 MaliAfrica73
🇪🇹 EthiopiaAfrica69
🇹🇭 ThailandAsia68
🇿🇦South AfricaAfrica50
🇨🇲 CameroonAfrica45
🇰🇬 KyrgyzstanAsia41
🇷🇼 RwandaAfrica41
🇶🇦 QatarAsia40
🇱🇾 LibyaAfrica36
🇧🇭 BahrainAsia31
🇹🇯 TajikistanAsia30
🇨🇾 CyprusAsia28
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoAfrica27
🇬🇭 GhanaAfrica27
🇺🇦 Ukraine RebelsEurope24

One relationship of significance is Russia’s provided weapons to Pro-Russia Ukrainian Rebels. Since 2014, Russia has offered arms and training to these rebels in their fight. These have included weapons of all sorts, from pistols and mines to tanks and missile launchers.

Effect of the War on Ukraine on Arms Trades

According to the latest data from SIPRI, the international arms trade fell by 4.6% in the last five-year period. Despite this, Europe has become a new hotspot for arms imports, seeing a 19% increase in arms transfers over the same time period.

Countries like the U.K., Netherlands, and Norway were the largest importers, and other countries might follow suit.

Experts claim that this upsurge is attributed to the crumbling relationship between Russia and Europe. Alarmed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European countries have been reevaluating their defense budgets—as exemplified by Germany’s recent €100 billion commitment to boost its military strength.

In the coming years, the U.S. and Russia’s biggest arms transfer partners are likely to shift. But which way will arms transfers trend?

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This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Maps

Visualizing the BRICS Expansion in 4 Charts

We provide a data-driven overview of how the recent BRICS expansion will grow the group’s influence and reach.

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Visualizing the BRICS Expansion in 4 Charts

BRICS is an association of five major countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Distinguished by their emerging economies, the group has sought to improve diplomatic coordination, reform global financial institutions, and ultimately serve as a counterbalance to Western hegemony.

On Aug. 24, 2023, BRICS announced that it would formally accept six new members at the start of 2024: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In this graphic, we provide a data-driven overview of how the BRICS expansion will grow the group’s influence and reach.

Share of Global GDP

Because most of the new BRICS members are considered to be developing economies, their addition to the group will not have a major impact on its overall share of GDP.

The following table includes GDP projections for 2023, courtesy of the IMF.

Original BRICS
Member
CountryGDP (USD billions)Share of Global (%)
Yes🇧🇷 Brazil$2,0812.0%
Yes🇷🇺 Russia$2,0632.0%
Yes🇮🇳 India$3,7373.6%
Yes🇨🇳 China$19,37418.4%
Yes🇿🇦 South Africa$3990.4%
No🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia$1,0621.0%
No🇮🇷 Iran$3680.4%
No🇪🇹 Ethiopia$1560.1%
No🇪🇬 Egypt$3870.4%
No🇦🇷 Argentina$6410.6%
No🇦🇪 UAE$4990.5%
-BRICS Total$30,76729.3%
-Rest of World$74,36270.7%

The original six BRICS members are expected to have a combined GDP of $27.6 trillion in 2023, representing 26.3% of the global total. With the new members included, expected GDP climbs slightly to $30.8 trillion, enough for a 29.3% global share.

Share of Global Population

BRICS has always represented a major chunk of global population thanks to China and India, which are the only countries with over 1 billion people.

The two biggest populations being added to BRICS are Ethiopia (126.5 million) and Egypt (112.7 million). See the following table for population data from World Population Review, which is dated as of 2023.

Original BRICS
Member
CountryPopulationShare of Global (%)
Yes🇧🇷 Brazil216,422,4462.7%
Yes🇷🇺 Russia144,444,3591.8%
Yes🇮🇳 India1,428,627,66317.8%
Yes🇨🇳 China1,425,671,35217.7%
Yes🇿🇦 South Africa60,414,4950.8%
No🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia36,947,0250.5%
No🇮🇷 Iran89,172,7671.1%
No🇪🇹 Ethiopia126,527,0601.6%
No🇪🇬 Egypt112,716,5981.4%
No🇦🇷 Argentina45,773,8840.6%
No🇦🇪 UAE9,516,8710.1%
-BRICS Total3.7 billion46.0%
-Rest of World4.3 billion54.0%

It’s possible that BRICS could eventually surpass 50% of global population, as many more countries have expressed their desire to join.

Share of Oil Production

Although the world is trying to move away from fossil fuels, the global oil market is still incredibly large—and BRICS is set to play a much bigger role in it. This is mostly due to the admission of Saudi Arabia, which alone accounts for 12.9% of global oil production.

Based on 2022 figures from the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, BRICS’ share of oil production will grow from 20.4% to 43.1%.

Original BRICS
Member
CountryThousand Barrels
per Day
Share of Global (%)
Yes🇧🇷 Brazil3,1073.3%
Yes🇷🇺 Russia11,20211.9%
Yes🇮🇳 India7370.8%
Yes🇨🇳 China4,1114.4%
Yes🇿🇦 South Africa00.0%
No🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia12,13612.9%
No🇮🇷 Iran3,8224.1%
No🇪🇹 Ethiopia00.0%
No🇪🇬 Egypt6130.7%
No🇦🇷 Argentina7060.8%
No🇦🇪 UAE4,0204.3%
-BRICS Total40,45443.1%
-Rest of World53,39456.9%

It’s worth noting that China has been pushing for oil trade to be denominated in yuan, and that Saudi Arabia’s acceptance into BRICS could bolster this ambition, potentially shifting the dynamics of global oil trade.

Share of Global Exports

The last metric included in our graphic is global exports, which is based on 2022 data from the World Trade Organization. We can see that the BRICS expansion will grow the group’s share of global exports (merchandise trade) to 25.1%, up from 20.2%.

Original BRICS
Member
CountryExports (USD billions)Share of Global (%)
Yes🇧🇷 Brazil3341.3%
Yes🇷🇺 Russia5322.1%
Yes🇮🇳 India4531.8%
Yes🇨🇳 China3,59414.4%
Yes🇿🇦 South Africa1230.5%
No🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia4101.6%
No🇮🇷 Iran730.3%
No🇪🇹 Ethiopia3.90.02%
No🇪🇬 Egypt490.2%
No🇦🇷 Argentina880.4%
No🇦🇪 UAE5992.4%
-BRICS Total6,25925.1%
-Rest of World18,64674.9%

Unsurprisingly, China is the world’s largest exporter. Major exporters that are not a part of BRICS include the U.S. (8.3%), Germany (6.6%), the Netherlands (3.9%), and Japan (3.0%).

Who Else Wants to Join?

According to Reuters, there are over 40 countries that have expressed interest in joining BRICS. A smaller group of 16 countries have actually applied for membership, though, and this list includes Algeria, Cuba, Indonesia, Palestine, and Vietnam.

As the group grows in size, differing opinions and priorities among its members could create tensions in the future. For example, India and China have had numerous border disputes in recent years, while Brazil’s newly elected President has sought to “kickstart a new era of relations” with the U.S.

One thing that is certain, however, is that a new acronym for the group will be needed very soon.

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