European Union's arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) was 9.52 billion in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 384.77% from 1.96 billion in 2015 (17.1% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 9.52 billion | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 2.31 billion | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 1.96 billion | 2015 |
| Highest | 12.84 billion | 1964 |
| Lowest | 1.2 billion | 2018 |
| Average since 2016 | 3.54 billion | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 6.37 billion |
What the numbers say
In 2025, European Union's arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) rose 49.9% on 2024 (from 6.35 billion to 9.52 billion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +5.8% and a typical year strayed about 33.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 115.4% in 2003 and the biggest yearly fall was 44.8% in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 757.28 million a year. A straight line explains 75% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
See how every economy compares in the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | 9.52 billion | 2025 |
| World | 33.33 billion | 2025 |
What this measures
Arms transfers (imports) cover the volume of transfers of major arms through sales and gifts, and those made through manufacturing licenses. Data cover major conventional weapons such as aircraft, armored vehicles, artillery, radar systems, missiles, and ships. Figures are SIPRI Trend Indicator Values (TIVs). A '0' indicates that the volume of deliveries is between 0 and 0.5 million SIPRI TIV.
Limitations: SIPRI calculates the volume of transfers to, from and between all parties using the TIV and the number of weapon systems or subsystems delivered in a given year. This data is intended to provide a common unit to allow the measurement if trends in the flow of arms to particular countries and regions over time. Therefore, the main priority is to ensure that the TIV system remains consistent over time, and that any changes introduced are backdated. SIPRI TIV figures do not represent sales prices for arms transfers.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.
All 66 values
| Year | Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 9,516,000,000 |
| 2024 | 6,348,000,000 |
| 2023 | 4,768,000,000 |
| 2022 | 3,588,000,000 |
| 2021 | 2,507,000,000 |
| 2020 | 2,314,000,000 |
| 2019 | 1,573,000,000 |
| 2018 | 1,196,000,000 |
| 2017 | 1,551,000,000 |
| 2016 | 2,041,000,000 |
Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) in nearby economies
- Afghanistan — 65 million (2021)
- Algeria — 108 million (2025)
- Bahrain — 30 million (2025)
- Djibouti — 0 (2023)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 697 million (2025)
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 42 million (2024)
- Iraq — 55 million (2025)
- Israel — 537 million (2025)
- Jordan — 34 million (2024)
- Kuwait — 311 million (2025)
More public sector data for European Union
- Military expenditure (current USD) — 460.56 billion (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.18% (2025)
- Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 8.9 billion (2025)
- Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 1.63% (2024)
- Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -2.74% (2024)
- Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 9.87% (2024)
- Social contributions (% of revenue) — 31.57% (2024)
- Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) — 36% (2024)
- Tax revenue (% of GDP) — 19.78% (2024)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is European Union's arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values)?
- 9.52 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is up 49.51% from 6.37 billion in 1960 (0.62% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 12.84 billion in 1964 and the lowest 1.2 billion in 2018.
- Is the latest change in arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) unusual for European Union?
- In 2025, European Union's arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) rose 49.9% on 2024 (from 6.35 billion to 9.52 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +5.8% and a typical year strayed about 33.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
- Where does this data come from?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator MS.MIL.MPRT.KD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Arms Transfers Programme, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), uri: https://armstransfers.sipri.org/ArmsTransfer/ Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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