Weapons and ammunition in circulation
Total current military stocks of China, USA, Russia, India, France and UK:
- 15,426 Battle tanks
- 17,816 Armoured combat vehicles
- 36,621 Large calibre artillery systems
- 7,644 Combat aircraft
- 1,485 Attack helicopters
- 269 Warships
- 527 Heavy unmanned aerial vehicles [Source: The Military Balance]
- 875 million small arms and light weapons are estimated to be in circulation worldwide. [Source: Small Arms Survey]
- Between 700,000 and 900,000 small arms are produced annually. [Source: Small Arms Survey]
Value of transfers
- A definitive figure for the value of international conventional arms transfers is difficult to calculate with precision. In 2010, the total value, as recorded in national statistics, was approximately US $72 billion. Since then, it is estimated that it the arms trade has been approaching US $100 billion annually. [Source: Solutions, “The Arms Trade Treaty: Building a Path to Disarmament”, 2013]
- The annual authorized trade in small arms and light weapons exceeds US $8.5 billion. More than 1,000 companies from nearly 100 countries produce small arms and light weapons. [Source: Small Arms Survey]
Military expenditure
- Total global military expenditure has risen from US $1.14 trillion in 2001 to US $1.711 trillion in 2014, a rise of 50%. [Source: SIPRI – figures in constant 2011 prices/exchange rates]
- Military expenditure in the Middle East has grown from US $99 to US $173 billion during the same period, a rise of 75% [Source: SIPRI– figures in constant 2011 prices/exchange rates]
The top 10 importers and exporters of major arms, 2010–14
Exporter Global share (%)
1. USA 31
2. Russia 27
3. China 5
4. Germany 5
5. France 5
6. UK 4
7. Spain 3
8. Italy 3
9. Ukraine 3
10. Israel 2
Importer Global share (%)
1. India 15
2. Saudi Arabia 5
3. China 5
4. UAE 4
5. Pakistan 4
6. Australia 4
7. Turkey 3
8. USA 3
9. South Korea 3
10. Singapore 3
[Source: SIPRI]
Armed violence
Globally, armed violence kills around 508,000 people every year, most in non-conflict settings.
High homicide rates have been estimated to cost the global economy just under US $2 trillion between 2000 and 2010 – 2.64% of the global output in 2010. [Source: Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, Global burden of Armed Violence 2015: Every body counts]