Report: Nigeria Remains Sub-Saharan Africa’s Top Arms Importer, as Morocco Leads the Continent

• Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan emerge five largest arms recipients globally in 2021-25

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

Nigeria retained its position as the biggest arms importer in Sub-Saharan Africa, while Morocco overtook its North African neighbour, Algeria, to emerge overall importer of arms in Africa, according to new data released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Meanwhile, the five largest arms recipients globally in 2021-25 were Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan.

Morocco increased its arms imports by 12 per cent between the 2016-2020 and 2021-2025 periods, ranking 28th globally with a one per cent share of total global arms imports.

Across the African continent, arms imports fell by 41 per cent between the two periods. The main suppliers to the region were the United States at 19 per cent, China at 17 per cent, Russia at 15 per cent, and France at 8.3 per cent.

However, Sub-Saharan Africa bucked the continental trend, increasing imports by 13 per cent, and accounting for 2.2 per cent of total global imports.

Nigeria was the largest recipient in Sub-Saharan Africa at 16 per cent of sub-regional imports, followed by Senegal at 8.8 per cent, and Mali at 8 per cent.

China was the top supplier to Sub-Saharan Africa at 22 per cent, followed by Russia at 12 per cent, and Türkiye at 11 per cent.

According to the SIPRI report, the United States supplied 60 per cent of Morocco’s arms imports between 2021 and 2025, while Israel was the second largest supplier at 24 per cent.

Morocco had pending arms imports from several states, including Spain and the United States, followed by France at 10 per cent as of the end of 2025

For long, Algeria, the dominant arms buyer on the African continent, saw its imports collapse by 78 per cent over the same period.

The country dropped to 33rd globally with a 0.9 per cent share of global imports.

Russia remained Algeria’s top supplier at 39 per cent, followed by China at 27 per cent, and Germany at 18 per cent.

Algeria’s imports had reached a peak during 2016-20 before the sharp decline.

SIPRI stated that the long-running tensions between Morocco and Algeria remained a major driver of both countries’ arms imports.

However, it observed that Algeria was often secretive about its arms deals, adding that several unverified reports about army agreements with Russia during the 2021-2025 period suggest that its estimates for Algeria may be on the low side.

Worldwide, the volume of major arms transferred between states rose by 9.2 per cent between 2016-20 and 2021-25, the biggest increase since 2011-15, driven overwhelmingly by surging European demand.

European states more than tripled their arms imports, with the region’s imports jumping 210 per cent.

Europe received 33 per cent of all global arms imports, making it the largest recipient region for the first time since the 1960s.

Ukraine alone accounted for 9.7 per cent of all global imports, becoming the world’s top arms recipient.

At least 36 states supplied major arms to Ukraine since the start of the conflict with Russia in 2022. Poland’s imports surged by 852 per cent, with South Korea supplying 47 per cent, and the United States 44 per cent.

The 29 current European NATO member- states saw their combined arms imports grow by 143 per cent.

The United States supplied 58 per cent of those imports, followed by South Korea at 8.6 per cent, Israel at 7.7 per cent, and France at 7.4 per cent.

The United States further cemented its dominance as the world’s top arms supplier, accounting for 42 per cent of all exports, up from 36 per cent in 2016-20.

United States arms exports rose 27 per cent, reaching 99 recipient states.

Europe overtook the Middle East as the primary destination for US arms for the first time in two decades, receiving 38 per cent of US exports.

Saudi Arabia remained the single largest recipient of US arms at 12 per cent.

France ranked second globally at 9.8 per cent, with exports rising 21 per cent. India received 24 per cent of French arms, followed by Egypt at 11 per cent and Greece at 10 per cent.

France’s arms exports within Europe rose more than fivefold.

Russia was the only top-ten supplier whose exports declined, falling 64 per cent. Its global share shrank from 21 per cent to 6.8 per cent.

Nearly three-quarters of its remaining exports went to just three states – India at 48 per cent, China at 13 per cent, and Belarus at 13 per cent.

Germany overtook China to become the fourth largest exporter at 5.7 per cent. Almost a quarter of German exports went to Ukraine as aid.

Italy saw the sharpest rise among top exporters, with exports surging 157 per cent, pushing it from 10th to 6th place. Over half of Italy’s exports went to the Middle East.

The data pointed to a clear global pattern. Israel ranked as the world’s seventh largest arms exporter with a 4.4 per cent global share, overtaking the United Kingdom for the first time. Its exports grew 56 per cent despite its military operations in Gaza and strikes against targets in Iran, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, and Yemen.

The Israeli arms industry focuses on air defence systems for which there is high global demand.

Asia and Oceania received 31 per cent of global imports, despite a 20 per cent drop in volume. India remained the world’s second-largest importer at 8.2 per cent.

Russia’s share of Indian imports dropped from 70 per cent in 2011-15 to 40 per cent in 2021-25 as India shifted towards Western suppliers.

Pakistan rose to become the fifth-largest recipient globally, with imports growing by 66 per cent. China supplied 80 per cent of Pakistan’s imports.

Japan’s imports rose 76 per cent while China’s fell 72 per cent as it expanded domestic production.

Middle East imports declined 13 per cent. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait remained among the world’s top 10 recipients.

The United States supplied more than half of the region’s imports at 54 per cent. Israel continued receiving US and German arms throughout its Gaza offensive, including F-35 combat aircraft, guided bombs, and missiles.

The five largest arms recipients globally in 2021-25 were Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan.

The five largest suppliers were the United States, France, Russia, Germany, and China.

Together, the top five exporters accounted for 70 per cent of all global arms transfers. States in North America and Western Europe combined accounted for 74 per cent of all arms exports, up from 62 per cent in 2016-2020.