India was the world’s second-largest importer of major arms in 2024, with an 8.3% share of global imports, reported The Print on Tuesday, citing a new report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI. India was replaced at the top by Ukraine, which accounted for 8.8% of global imports between 2020 and 2024.
Ukraine’s arms imports surged nearly a hundredfold compared to the period between 2015 and 2019, as over 35 countries sent it weapons after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“Most of the major arms supplied to Ukraine came from the USA (45%), followed by Germany (12%), and Poland (11%),” the report stated. “Ukraine was the only European state among the top 10 importers in 2020–24, although many other European states significantly increased their arms imports in the period.”
India’s arms imports declined by 9.3% between 2015-’19 and 2020-’24, partly due to its growing domestic weapons manufacturing capability. “Despite recent public declarations from the two sides that relations between India and Russia remain friendly, the shift is also visible in India’s new and planned orders for major arms, most of which will come from Western suppliers,” SIPRI stated.
Russia remained India’s largest supplier of weapons, but its share of Indian arms exports fell to 36-38% in 2020-’24, down from 55% in 2015-’19 and 72% in 2010-’14.
SIPRI said India’s dependence on Russia reduced by 64% between 2015-’19 and 2020-’24 as New Delhi diversified towards France, Israel and the United States. India was also the third-largest importer from South Korea and South Africa, with respective shares of 7% and 11%.
India was the top arms importer from France and Israel, accounting for 28% and 34% of their exports respectively. India’s arms imports from France increased by 11% between 2015-’19 and 2020-’24, while imports from Israel dropped by 2%. However, India was not among the top three importers from the US.
India has signed major defence contracts with France for 36 Rafale fighter jets and six Scorpene-class conventional submarines, while deals for 26 Rafale-M jets and three more submarines are set to be finalised.
China dropped out of the list of the top 10 arms importers for the first time since 1990-’94, reflecting its expanding domestic defence industry, reported The Hindu. Four of the world’s 10 largest importers were in Asia and Oceania: India, Pakistan, Japan and Australia. The region accounted for 33% of global arms imports, followed by Europe (28%), West Asia (27%), the Americas (6.2%) and Africa (4.5%).
Pakistan’s arms imports correspondingly increased by 61%. “China became even more dominant as its supplier, accounting for 81% of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2020-’24, compared with 74% in 2015-’19,” SIPRI said.
Russia exported major arms to 33%, with India accounting for 38% of its exports, followed by China (17%) and Kazakhstan (11%). France exported arms to 65 countries in the period. “This was mainly due to deliveries of combat aircraft to Greece and Croatia, and arms supplies to Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022,” SIPRI noted.
India received the largest share of French exports (28%), nearly twice that the country sent to all European countries combined (15%). Qatar was the second-largest recipient of French arms, making up 9.7% of the country’s weapons exports in 2022-’24.
Although India has increased domestic production and signed export deals, it did not feature among the top 25 arms exporters during 2020-’24. The top five importers during the period were Ukraine, India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, accounting for 35% of all global arms imports.
The global arms transfer volume remained stable compared to 2015-’19 and 2010-’14, though it was 18% higher than in 2005–2009. US exports rose by 21% and accounted for 43% of global exports. Russia’s exports fell by 64% and made up 7.8%, placing it behind France, which accounted for 9.6%. Italy, with a 4.8% share, moved from tenth to sixth place.
“The new arms transfers figures clearly reflect the rearmament taking place among states in Europe in response to the threat from Russia,” said Mathew George, programme director at SIPRI. “Some major arms importers, including Saudi Arabia, India and China, saw large declines in import volumes for a variety of reasons, despite high threat perceptions in their regions.”
India, China and Pakistan were Ukraine’s largest arms buyers. China sourced 67% of its imports from Ukraine, India 15% and Pakistan 5.3%. These included large quantities of gas turbines for naval platforms.
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