The United States Dominated Global Arms Exports in 2022: Who Were the Recipients?

Based on data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the United States is recorded as the world's largest arms exporter, holding a 40% global market share.

The US has held this position for many years. SIPRI notes that this market share increased by 14% from the 2013-2017 period, when it was 33%.

The three countries receiving the most weapons from the United States are Saudi Arabia (19% of total US arms exports), followed by Japan (8.6%) and Australia (8.4%).

SIPRI explains that although the largest US arms exports target the Middle East, this figure has decreased by 49% from the 2013-2017 period.

Besides Saudi Arabia, other Middle Eastern countries receiving US weaponry include Qatar (6.7%), Kuwait (4.8%), and the United Arab Emirates (4.4%).

"Partly related to its policy aimed at containing Iranian influence, the US exported a large number of advanced weapons to countries in the region," SIPRI wrote in its report.

(Read also: The United States was the Largest Arms Exporter in the Last Five Years)

Russia is a distant second with a 16% market share. Unfortunately, this export proportion plummeted by 31% from the previous 2013-2017 figure of 22%.

The countries receiving the most weapons from Russia are India (31%), China (23%), and Egypt (9.3%).

France is third with an 11% market share. This figure increased by 44% from the 2013-2017 period, when it exported 7.1%.

India is the largest recipient of French weapons, with 30% of the manufacturer's total exports. This is followed by Qatar (17%) and Egypt (8%).

Outside the top three global arms suppliers, China is fourth with a 5.2% market share. This figure dropped by 23% from the 2013-2017 export figure of 6.3%.

Germany is fifth, with a 5.2% market share, a decrease of 35% from the 2013-2017 export figure of 6.1%.

The remaining top ten are Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, South Korea, and Israel.

SIPRI explains that the five largest arms exporters account for more than three-quarters (76%) of all arms exports.

Of these five countries, US and French exports increased, while Russian, Chinese, and German exports decreased over the past five years.

(Read also: Indonesia Imported Nearly a Billion Dollars Worth of Military Weapons from 2014-2022)