Washington, March 19, 2025 – Global arms sales hit a post-Cold War high of $111.6 billion in 2024, according to a report by the Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) seen by Sputnik.
CAWAT conducts all calculations in “current” US dollars, that is, at the dollar exchange rate at the time of concluding a particular contract in the prices of the corresponding year.
“In 2024, the volume of global exports/imports of conventional weapons (according to the UN Register classification) amounted, according to estimates by the […] CAWAT, to $111.615 billion, which is the highest amount since the end of the Cold War,” the report states.
For comparison, the volume of global exports of arms and military equipment (WME) amounted to $82.942 billion in 2021, $106.185 billion in 2022, $96.889 billion in 2023.
According to CAWAT experts, the sharp increase in global arms exports/imports is associated with several factors, including the situation around Ukraine.
“Having gotten rid of obsolete WME systems as part of military aid to Kiev, the countries of the ‘collective West’ began large-scale purchases of modern and more expensive types of weapons. At the same time, the main beneficiary and beneficiary in this situation was the United States, which virtually monopolized the arms market of NATO member states,” the report says. (Sputnik News)
