- India ranked as the world’s second largest arms importer between 2021 and 2025.
- Russia supplied around 40 per cent of India’s arms imports.
- Ukraine emerged as the biggest global arms importer during the same period.
India has emerged as the world’s second largest arms importer between 2021 and 2025, according to a new report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The report, titled Trends in International Arms Transfers, indicates that Ukraine topped the list of global arms importers during the same period, accounting for about 9.7 per cent of total international arms transfers.
India’s imports, however, dipped slightly compared with the previous period.
“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 reportedly said, as quoted in a news report.
Despite the marginal drop, India continues to rely heavily on foreign defence suppliers for military equipment and systems.
Russia still leads India’s defence supply chain
Russia remained the largest supplier of arms to India, though its share has been gradually declining.
According to the report, Russia accounted for roughly 40 per cent of India’s arms imports between 2021 and 2025. That figure is lower than the 51 per cent share recorded during 2016-20 and significantly down from about 70 per cent between 2011 and 2015.
At the same time, India appears to be widening its defence partnerships.
The report noted that India has increasingly turned to suppliers such as France and Israel as part of its strategy to diversify military procurement.
Across the wider Asia and Oceania region, four countries — India, Pakistan, Japan and Australia — ranked among the world’s top ten arms importers.
The US was the largest arms supplier to the region, accounting for about 35 per cent of total imports, followed by Russia with 17 per cent and China with 14 per cent.
Global arms transfers continue to rise
The SIPRI report also highlights a broader shift in global arms flows.
According to the think tank, the overall volume of major arms transfers between countries increased by around 9.2 per cent between 2016-20 and 2021-25.
The US further strengthened its position as the world’s biggest arms exporter.
“The United States supplied 42 per cent of all international arms transfers during 2021-25,” the report reportedly said, compared with 36 per cent in the previous five-year period.
Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme, reportedly said many countries continue to purchase US weapons both for advanced military capabilities and to strengthen strategic relations.
Meanwhile, China dropped out of the list of the world’s top ten arms importers for the first time since the early 1990s, a shift that the report links to the country’s growing domestic defence production.
