Really Big Numbers

source euronews

September 30, 2011: STRATEGY PAGE

The war on terror caused a large jump in arms exports, but the 2008 worldwide economic recession put a halt to that. In 2003, international arms exports amounted to $39 billion. By 2008, it reached nearly $70 billion. By last year these exports had declined to $40 billion. Throughout this period, the U.S. accounted for about 38 percent of these exports, followed by Russia (18 percent) and West European nations (24 percent) and many others (20 percent). The top five nations were; the U.S. ($171 billion), Russia ($81 billion), France ($37 billion), Britain ($30 billion) and China ($16 billion). Most of the exports were to developing nations, which do not yet have large enough arms industries to supply their own needs. The main customers for all these implements of destruction has been India, Middle Eastern oil states and China.