Germany becomes world's fourth-largest arms exporter

Germany has significantly increased its arms exports, overtaking China to become the fourth-largest exporter of weapons in the world, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

As reported by Spiegel, Germany moved from fifth to fourth place among the world's leading exporters of major arms over the past five years, surpassing China.

Germany accounted for 5.7% of global arms exports between 2021 and 2025. Deliveries of German weapons increased by 15% compared with the period from 2016 to 2020.

SIPRI noted that nearly a quarter of Germany's exports (24%) had been supplied to Ukraine as military aid.

Some 41% of Germany's heavy weapons exports went to European countries, while 33% were delivered to the Middle East.

Imports of major arms into Germany also rose sharply (914%), increasing more than tenfold compared with the period from 2016 to 2020.

SIPRI defines "major arms" as military equipment that is larger than small arms and ammunition, including combat aircraft, drones, military helicopters, ships, tanks and artillery systems.

Among Germany's European allies, Poland and Italy have also increased their arms exports particularly sharply. Italy is now the sixth largest arms exporter in the world.

According to SIPRI, the reasons for this are the war in Ukraine, doubts about the US commitment to NATO and a significant increase in military spending by many European countries.

It was previously reported that Germany, together with its European NATO partners, intends to purchase a large number of inexpensive combat drones.

It was recently reported that senior German officials promised to allocate more funds for innovation and start-ups amid growing criticism over how the country's huge military budget is being spent.