European countries have tripled their arms imports in the last five years, according to the Swedish research institute SIPRI.
European arms imports have surged by 210% in the period from 2021 to 2025, according to SIPRI. These imports have included heavy weapons such as aircraft, tanks, and ships, as well as radar and artillery.
The United States has held a 33% share of all arms imports in Europe in the 2021–2025 period, followed by Asia and Oceania (31%), the Middle East (26%), the Americas (5.6%) and Africa (4.3%).
For the first time in two decades, the largest share of the US arms exports went to Europe in 2021–2025 (38%). The US increased its share of the global arms trade from 36% to 42%.
Belgium ranks 31st, with 0.9% of global arms imports. About 54% of these imports came from the US, according to SIPRI.
As an exporter, Belgium ranks 23rd, with a share of 0.3 % in 2021-2025. In that period, Belgium mainly exported arms to Saudi Arabia (30%), Ukraine (23%) and Canada (21%).
The analysis focused on volumes rather than the financial value of the weapons. To gain a better overview, the Institute compared five-year periods rather than annual figures, as volumes can vary significantly from year to year.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Europe has begun rearming. Europe is striving to manufacture its own weapons, now that it can no longer rely blindly on the US's protection. Despite that, the bloc is still buying a lot of US-made weapons.
According to the Swedish Institute, Ukraine represents 9.7 % of global imports, making it the world's largest importer. As to US-made arms, American Patriot air defence missiles are still crucial for Ukraine's defence.
