Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2008-2015

Summary

This report provides Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions. All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transactions. Similar data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers by all government suppliers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons supplying governments to nations in the developing world.

Developing nations continue to be the primary focus of foreign arms sales activity by weapons suppliers. During the years 2008-2011, the value of arms transfer agreements with developing nations comprised 80.39% of all such agreements worldwide. More recently, arms transfer agreements with developing nations constituted 80.92% of all such agreements globally from 2012-2015, and 81.70% of these agreements in 2015.

The value of all arms transfer agreements with developing nations in 2015 was $65.2 billion. In 2015, the value of all arms deliveries to developing nations was $33.6 billion.

Recently, from 2012 to 2015, the United States and Russia were predominant the arms market in the developing world, with both nations either ranking first or second in all but the most recent in these four years in the value of arms transfer agreements. From 2012 to 2015, the United States made nearly $86 billion in such agreements, 33.38%of all these agreements (expressed in current dollars). Russia made $48.6 billion, 18.94% of these agreements. During this same period, collectively, the United States and Russia made 52% of all arms transfer agreements with developing nations, ($134 billion in current dollars).

In 2015, the United States ranked first in arms transfer agreements with developing nations with $26.7 billion or 41% of these agreements. In second place was France with $15.2 billion or 23.30% of such agreements.

In 2015, the United States ranked first in the value of arms deliveries to developing nations at $11.9 billion, or 35.42% of all such deliveries. Russia and France tied for second in these deliveries at $6.2 billion each and each representing 18.45%.

In worldwide arms transfer agreements in 2015—to both developed and developing nations—the United States was predominant, ranking first with $40.2 billion in such agreements or 50.29% of all such agreements. France ranked second in worldwide arms transfer agreements in 2015 with $15.3 billion in such global agreements or 19.16%. The value of all arms transfer agreements worldwide in 2015 was $79.9 billion.

In 2015, Qatar ranked first among all developing nations weapons purchasers concluding $17.5 billion in the value of arms transfer agreements. Egypt ranked second, concluding $11.9 billion in such agreements. Saudi Arabia ranked third with $8.6 billion in such agreements.