Article Title: India – second largest arms importer after Ukraine in 2020-25, says SIPRI
11-03-2025
International Relations Prelims Plus
Context
Ukraine, involved in a war with Russia for the past four years, became the largest importer of major arms in the world during the period between 2020 and 2024, clocking a nearly 100-fold rise in imports compared with the figures for 2015–2019.
India was the second-largest arms importer, though the trade figures decreased by 9.3% between 2015-19 and 2020-24, show data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
India was the biggest arms export destination for both Russia and France, though the volume with Russia has significantly reduced.
The largest share of Indian arms imports (36%) came from Russia, a significantly smaller share than in 2015-19 (55%) and 2010-14 (72%), the report noted.
Arms imports by Pakistan grew by 61% between 2015-19 and 2020-24. China became even more dominant as its supplier, accounting for 81% of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2020-24, compared with 74% in 2015–19
Both Russia and France’s major export destination was India
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament.
HQ: Solna (Sweden)
Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public.
Status of Arms imports in 2020-24 compared to 2015-19
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