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India has emerged as the world’s second-largest arms importer during the five years 2021–2025, accounting for 8.3 per cent of global arms imports, according to the latest report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on Monday.
“India was the world’s second largest arms importer. Its imports decreased marginally (–4.0 per cent) between 2016–20 and 2021–25,” according to the report.
The report, Trends in International Arms Transfers 2025, places Ukraine at the top position with 9.7 per cent of global imports, largely driven by the ongoing war with Russia.
While India remains a major buyer of foreign military equipment, the study notes a marginal decline in its imports over the past decade, reflecting the gradual impact of domestic defence manufacturing. According to SIPRI, India’s arms imports fell by 4 per cent between 2016–2020 and 2021–2025.
Despite this decline, India continues to rely heavily on overseas suppliers to meet its military modernisation needs. The report notes that the largest share of India’s imports during 2021–2025 came from Russia, which accounted for 40 per cent of total deliveries. However, Moscow’s dominance in the Indian arms market has steadily declined, from 70 per cent during 2011–2015 to 51 per cent in 2016–2020.
At the same time, India has expanded procurement from Western and other partners. France accounted for 29 per cent of India’s imports during 2021–2025, while Israel supplied 15 per cent. SIPRI noted that over the past decade, India has gradually shifted its arms sourcing away from Russia toward suppliers in Europe and the United States.
The report adds that India’s arms imports are largely driven by its strategic competition with China and persistent tensions with Pakistan, both of which have periodically escalated into armed confrontations.
SIPRI also pointed to major planned procurements that could sustain India’s reliance on foreign suppliers in the near term. These include potential purchases of up to 140 combat aircraft from France and six conventional submarines from Germany.
At the same time, the report acknowledged that India’s expanding domestic defence industry has begun to slow the pace of imports, even though indigenous programmes often face production delays.
Regionally, four countries from Asia and Oceania, India, Pakistan, Japan and Australia, ranked among the world’s ten largest arms importers in 2021–2025. The United States was the largest supplier to the region, accounting for 35 per cent of imports, followed by Russia with 17 per cent and China with 14 per cent.
Pakistan ranked as the world’s fifth-largest arms importer, accounting for 4.2 per cent of global imports. Its arms purchases grew by 66 per cent between 2016–2020 and 2021–2025, with China supplying 80 per cent of Islamabad’s imports.
Globally, the report notes that arms transfers during 2021–2025 were the highest since the 2011–2015 period. The United States remained the world’s largest exporter, accounting for 42 per cent of global arms exports, up from 36 per cent in the previous five-year period. Washington supplied weapons to 99 countries during this period.
France emerged as the second-largest arms exporter with a 9.8 per cent share of global exports, followed by Russia, while Germany overtook China to become the fourth-largest exporter of major arms.
The findings highlight India’s continuing dependence on foreign military hardware even as it seeks to expand indigenous production and diversify suppliers amid a complex regional security environment.
Team BharatShakti
