State of the industry

$597 billion The 2022 revenues for the world’s 100 biggest arms companies.1

World’s biggest companies by arms revenue2

US civilian firearm ownership: 120.5 firearms estimated for every 100 residents.3

Russia and the US together possess almost 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons.4

Deadly business

482% increase in conflict deaths in the last 15 years.8

45% of violent deaths in 2021 were as a result of firearm use.9

At the border

> 80 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide by 2020.10

$65-68 billion expected size of the global border security market by 2025.10

15% Anticipated annual growth rate of Europe’s global border security market.10

Who’s supplying whom?

The US accounts for 42% of global arms exports – the biggest share of any country.

Where are states buying their arms?5

Russia relies primarily on its own industry for its major arms.

94% Increase in major arms imports to Europe between 2014-18 and 2019-23.6

24% Increase in Israel’s military spending in 2023.7

54% Increase in military spending in Central America and the Caribbean from 2014 to 2023, as military forces are increasingly used as a response to violence.7

  1. SIPRI, ‘Rise in SIPRI Top 100 arms sales revenue...’, 4 December 2023, a.nin.tl/backlog
  2. SIPRI, ‘The SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing...’, 2023, a.nin.tl/companies
  3. Aaron Karp, ‘Estimating global civilian-held firearms numbers’, Small Arms Survey, June 2018, a.nin.tl/civilian
  4. SIPRI, ‘Role of nuclear weapons grows...’, 17 June 2024, a.nin.tl/nuclear
  5. Pieter D Wezeman et al, ‘Trends in international arms transfers, 2023’, SIPRI, March 2024, a.nin.tl/trend
  6. SIPRI, ‘European arms imports nearly double...’, 11 March 2024, a.nin.tl/imports
  7. SIPRI ‘Global military spending surges...’, 22 April 2024, a.nin.tl/militaryspend
  8. Institute for Economics & Peace, Global Peace Index 2024, Sydney, 2024.
  9. Small Arms Survey, ‘Global violent deaths database in 2021’, 2023, a.nin.tl/violent
  10. Mark Akkerman, ‘Financing border wars’, Transnational Institute and Stop Wapenhandel, March 2021, a.nin.tl/borderwars