Türkiye's share of global arms exports surges by 103%

By Bahattin Gonultas and Gokhan Ergocun

BERLIN (AA) - Türkiye's share of global arms exports grew by 103% in 2020-24, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report released Monday.

The volume of international transfers of large arms in the period decreased by 0.6% compared to the 2015-2019 period, according to the report.

The US, France, Russia, China and Germany were recorded as the five largest arms exporters in the same period.

While the Russia-Ukraine war significantly changed the global arms market, arms exports by the US increased by 21% between 2015-19 and 2020-24 and its share of global arms exports grew from 35% to 43%, the report said.

Although many countries in Europe decided to increase their defense investments amid rising security threats after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, it was noteworthy that France’s share of global arms exports increased to 9.6%.

Russia’s share of global arms exports meanwhile decreased from 21% to 7.8% and China’s share fell from 6.2% to 5.9%.

Germany’s share fell from 5.7% to 5.6%.

According to the report, Türkiye’s share of global arms exports increased by 103% from 0.8% in 2015-2019 to 1.7% in 2020-2024, making it the 11th largest arms exporter globally.

In the 2020-2024 period, Türkiye exported 18% of its arms to the United Arab Emirates, 10% to Pakistan and 9.9% to Qatar.

With the increase in Türkiye's domestic and national solutions in the defense industry, most of the vehicles, ammunition and equipment previously procured from abroad have started to be procured domestically.

According to the report, Türkiye managed to reduce its arms imports by 33% in the 2020-2024 period compared to the 2015-2019 period.

The country's share of arms imports, which was at 1.7% in the 2015-2019 period, dropped to 1.1% in the 2020-2024 period, and the country ranked 22nd in arms imports worldwide.

The countries exporting the most arms to Türkiye were Spain with 34%, Italy with 24% and Germany with 19%.