- A SIPRI report covering 2021–2025 shows Germany overtaking China to become the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter as global defense trade patterns shift.
- The report attributes the change to increased European demand for German systems and declining Russian exports while China directs more production toward domestic military modernization.
Germany has overtaken China to become the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, according to a new global weapons transfer report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The annual assessment reviews major conventional weapons transfers worldwide during the 2021–2025 period and shows Germany moving ahead of China in total export volume.
The shift reflects changing demand patterns following recent conflicts and evolving global procurement trends. Increased European defense spending, military assistance to Ukraine, and declining Russian exports have reshaped the structure of the international arms market during the five-year reporting window.
According to SIPRI’s analysis, the five largest exporters of major conventional weapons between 2021 and 2025 were the United States, France, Russia, Germany, and China. Together, those five countries accounted for roughly 70 percent of all global arms exports during the period.
The United States maintained a wide lead in the international arms market. SIPRI data show the country accounted for 42 percent of global arms exports during the reporting period, with shipments increasing by 27 percent compared with the previous five-year cycle.
France ranked second with a market share of 9.8 percent. Its largest customers included India, Egypt, and Greece, reflecting continued demand for French fighter aircraft, naval platforms, and air defense systems.
Russia, historically one of the dominant exporters of military equipment, fell to third place with a market share of roughly 6.8 percent. SIPRI reported that Russian arms exports declined by about 64 percent compared with the previous five-year period.
Germany moved into fourth position with a global market share of approximately 5.7 percent. According to the report, about 24 percent of German arms exports during the period were delivered to Ukraine.
China ranked fifth with a market share of about 5.6 percent. SIPRI noted that Pakistan remained China’s largest arms customer, accounting for roughly 80 percent of Beijing’s overseas weapons exports.
The report links Germany’s rising position partly to changes triggered by the Russia–Ukraine war. As noted by SIPRI, German military assistance to Ukraine—counted in the report as arms exports—combined with growing European demand for German-made air defense systems and armored vehicles.
At the same time, Russia’s reduced export activity has opened space in the global market. According to SIPRI, European suppliers including Germany, France, and Italy have benefited from that shift as customers seek alternatives to Russian systems.
SIPRI’s report also points to structural changes in China’s defense industry. In recent years, Beijing has focused increasingly on modernizing its own armed forces and expanding domestic production of advanced weapons systems.
According to the report, that strategy has directed more industrial output toward internal military use rather than export markets, which has slowed the pace of overseas sales growth.
SIPRI’s assessment focuses specifically on transfers of major conventional weapons systems such as combat aircraft, air defense systems, tanks, artillery, naval vessels, and missile platforms. The institute tracks long-term delivery patterns rather than short-term contract announcements, providing a broader picture of global defense trade.
The institute compiles its database using open-source reporting, government disclosures, and industry information to estimate the scale and direction of international arms flows.