India emerges as world’s second-largest arms importer, Russia remains main supplier: Report

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Mar 11, 2026: India continues to rank among the world’s top arms importers, ranking the second largest importer of arms and military hardware from 2021 to 2025 with an 8.2 percent share of global arms imports, according to the latest data released by the Stockholm International Peace Researach Institute (SIPRI).

As per the report published by the Swedish think tank, the largest chunk of the imports for India came from Russia.

Ukraine, which received 9.7 per cent of all arms transfers in 2021-25, was ranked the world’s largest arms importer in that period, SIPRI said.

Since China expanded domestic production of its own designs, it got dropped out of the top 10 arms importers for the first time since 1991-1995, the think tank noted in its report titled ‘Trends in International Arms Transfers’.

The United States supplied 42 per cent of all international arms transfers during 2021-25, up from 36 per cent in 2016-20, the report said.

Since China expanded domestic production of its own designs, it got dropped out of the top 10 arms importers for the first time since 1991-1995, the think tank noted in its report titled ‘Trends in International Arms Transfers’.

The United States supplied 42 per cent of all international arms transfers during 2021-25, up from 36 per cent in 2016-20, the report said.

Four states in Asia and Oceania — India, Pakistan, Japan and Australia — ranked among the 10 largest arms importers globally in 2021-25.

According to the data, it has been learnt that the US was the main supplier to the region in 2021-25 and accounted for 35 per cent of regional arms imports. Russia accounted for another 17 per cent and China for 14 per cent.

“India was the world’s second-largest arms importer. Its imports decreased marginally (4 per cent) between 2016-20 and 2021-25," the SIPRI report said, adding, “The largest share of Indian arms imports came from Russia, at 40 per cent — a significantly smaller share than in 2016-20 (51 per cent) and almost half that in 2011-15 (70 per cent)," it said.

India is increasingly turning to Western suppliers, the report mentioned. The report came at a time when New Delhi is trying to develop itself as self-reliant and is trying to reduce its dependency on other nations.

The report noted that Russia has remained India’s main supplier for military hardware. India is also buying arms from France and Israel as well.

“Arms imports by Pakistan grew by 66 per cent between 2016-20 and 2021-25. China supplied 80 per cent of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2021-25, up from 73 per cent in 2016-20," the report mentioned.

The US has further cemented its dominance as an arms supplier, even in an increasingly multipolar world, said Pieter Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.

“While tensions and conflicts in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East continue to drive large-scale arms imports, the sharp increase in arms flows to European states pushed global arms transfers up almost 10 per cent," said Mathew George, Director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.

Courtesy: News18