Türkiye’s share in global arms exports rises between 2021-25

ISTANBUL

Türkiye ranked 11th among the world’s largest arms suppliers during the 2021–2025 period, according to the latest report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on March 9.

Türkiye’s share of global arms exports rose from 0.9 percent in 2016–2020 to 1.8 percent in 2021–2025. The report noted that this represents a 122 percent increase between the two periods.

From 2021 and 2025, the top three recipients of Türkiye’s arms exports were Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine, accounting for 16 percent, 12 percent and 8.4 percent of Türkiye’s total exports, respectively.

The Turkish defense and aerospace industry’s exports reached an all-time high of $10.05 billion in 2025.

The country’s defense exports stood at around only $250 million in 2022, surpassing the $1 billion mark for the first time in 2011.

The defense industry recorded a strong performance in February this year, achieving $553.4 million in exports — a 27.2 percent increase compared to the same month of 2025.

In the first two months of 2026, the sector’s exports reached $1.11 billion, marking a 35.1 percent rise year-on-year, according to the latest data from the Türkiye Exporters’ Assembly (TİM).

Türkiye ranked 24th in terms of the share of global arms imports in 2021-2025, the SIPRI report showed. The country’s share in global arms imports was 1.2 percent in this period, down from 1.5 percent in 2016-2020, pointing to a sharp 9.7 percent decline between the two periods.

Global weapons flows grew by almost 10 percent in the past five years, with Europe more than tripling imports, according to the SIPRI report.

“The surge in European countries can be explained, in part at least, by the fact they are buying in weapons to supply to Ukraine and because they are seeking to boost their own military capabilities against a perceived threat from Russia,” SIPRI said.

The volume of worldwide arms flows grew by 9.2 percent in the period 2021 to 2025 compared to the preceding five-year period, according to SIPRI's new report.

While imports of weapons to Europe are still not at the levels seen during the Cold War, “Europe is now the largest recipient of arms,” Mathew George, director of SIPRI's Arms Transfers Program, told AFP.

"Deliveries to Ukraine since 2022 are the most obvious factor but most other European states have also started importing significantly more arms to shore up their military capabilities against a perceived growing threat from Russia," he said in a statement.

European countries accounted for 33 percent of global arms imports, increasing their imports by 210 percent from the previous five-year period.

Almost half of the weapons to Europe, 48 percent, came from the United States.

The U.S. dominated weapons exports, accounting for 42 percent of all international arms transfers in the period, up from 36 percent in the previous five years.

The second-largest exporter, France, which saw its exports grow 21 percent, accounted for just 9.8 percent of global arms exports in 2021-2025.

Russia, the third-largest exporter, was the only one of the world's top 10 to see exports fall.

Germany overtook China to become the fourth-largest arms exporter in 2021-2025 with 5.7 percent of global arms exports.