The surge in European countries can be explained, in part at least, by the fact they are buying in weapons to supply to Ukraine and because they are seeking to boost their own military capabilities against a perceived threat from Russia, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said.
The volume of worldwide arms flows grew by 9.2 percent in the period 2021 to 2025 compared to the preceding five-year period, according to SIPRI's new report.
SIPRI analyses trends over half-decades because a few deliveries of major contracts can tilt yearly figures.
While imports of weapons to Europe are still not at the levels seen during the Cold War, "Europe is now the largest recipient of arms", Mathew George, director of SIPRI's Arms Transfers Programme, told AFP.
"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," he said in a statement.
European countries accounted for 33 percent of global arms imports, increasing their imports by 210 percent from the previous five-year period.
Almost half of weapons to Europe, 48 percent, came from the United States.
The US dominated weapons exports, accounting for 42 percent of all international arms transfers in the period -- up from 36 percent in the previous five years.
- US dominance -
Despite talk of Europe needing to become more self-sufficient, George noted that transfers between European countries accounted for only a fifth of flows in the region.
"European suppliers are still supplying majorly outside of Europe rather than within," George said.
Germany did overtake China to become the fourth-largest arms exporter in 2021-2025, with 5.7 percent of global arms exports.
Almost a quarter of German exports went to Ukraine as aid and only 17 percent went to other European states, meaning more than half left the continent.
US dominance in supplying Europe was likely to continue for the foreseeable future, George said, pointing out that more than 460 F-35 fighter jets were pending delivery.
Arms imports to the Middle East shrank by 13 percent between 2016-2020 and 2021-2025.
But three of the world's top importers still came from the region, which received more than half of its imports -- 54 percent -- from the United States.
Saudia Arabia accounted for 6.8 percent of global imports, while Qatar and Kuwait accounted for 6.4 percent and 4.8 percent respectively.
"Moving forward, we do see a whole list of things that are pending for delivery to the Middle East.
"So when they are delivered, then we can see those numbers potentially go up," George told AFP.
When it comes to exports, the United States is in a class of its own, George noted.
The second-largest exporter, France -- which saw its exports grow 21 percent -- accounted for just 9.8 percent of global arms exports in 2021-2025.
Russia, the third-largest exporter, was the only one of the world's top 10 to see exports fall.
Its weapons sales fell 64 percent by volume in 2021-2025 compared to the previous five years, reducing its global share of exports from 21 percent in 2016-2020 to 6.8 percent in 2021-2025.
- Domestic production -
The drop in Russian exports can be explained in part by the fact that Moscow is using more of the equipment it produces for its war in Ukraine, and also because the United States and Europe have been pushing third countries to not purchase Russian arms, George said.
Additionally, the two main importers of Russian weaponry, China and India, "are looking at domestic development and production of defence technology", George said.
In India's case, the country has also "looked at diversifying who they're getting their arms from".
China's move towards more domestic production and away from Russian imports led its overall imports to drop by 72 percent.
The country fell out of the top 10 importers for the first time since the early 1990s, according to SIPRI.
While the Asia and Oceania region was the second-largest importer, China's reduced imports contributed to a 20-percent drop in volume in the region in 2021-2025 compared to 2016-2020.
That said, China has not stopped investing in its military capabilities, leading some of its neighbours to follow suit.
"Fears over China's intentions and its growing military capabilities continue to influence armament efforts in other parts of Asia and Oceania, which often still depend on imported arms," said Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher with SIPRI.
Between 2016-2020 and 2021-2025, Japan increased its arms imports by 76 percent while Taiwan increased its by 54 percent.
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