China went from the world's top arms buyer to 21st

SIPRI measures the volume of major conventional arms (trend-indicator values, TIV), not money; shares are five-year totals plotted at the period's end year. SIPRI revises its database each year, so each period uses the latest SIPRI publication that reports it: 2021–25 and 2016–20 (China 1.3% and 5.2%, India 8.2% and 9.3%, China 21st, −72%, exports +11%, first time out of the top 10 since 1991–95) from the March 2026 fact sheet; 2011–15 (China 4.4%, India 14%) from the March 2021 fact sheet (https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/fs_2103_at_2020_v2.pdf); 2006–10 (China 7.1%, India 8.5%) from the February 2016 fact sheet (https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/SIPRIFS1602.pdf); 2001–05 shares are progrss calculations from SIPRI Yearbook 2006 Table 10.1 (China 13,343 and India 9,355 of 93,516 TIV; China ranked 1st) (https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/YB06%20449%2010.pdf). Earlier editions gave slightly different values for the same periods (e.g. 2016–20 China 4.7% in the 2021 sheet; 2006–10 China 6% in the 2011 sheet). Main suppliers to China in 2021–25: Russia 66%, Ukraine 15%, France 13%. The link between falling imports and domestic production is SIPRI's own assessment.

Published 3 Nov 2026