STOCKHOLM — Europe became the world’s largest arms-importing region in 2021-25, with imports jumping 210% from the previous five-year period, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said Monday. The surge reflected weapons deliveries to Ukraine, faster rearmament across the continent and mounting concern over Russia, together with uncertainty about future U.S. security guarantees, March 9, 2026.
SIPRI’s March 9 arms-transfer release said European states received 33% of global arms imports in 2021-25, ahead of Asia and Oceania at 31% and the Middle East at 27%. Ukraine was the biggest single recipient of imported arms worldwide, while Poland and the United Kingdom were the next-largest buyers in Europe.
Europe arms imports now outpace every other region
Almost half of the arms transferred to European states came from the United States, followed by Germany and France, according to the updated SIPRI Arms Transfers Database. SIPRI said the 29 current European NATO members increased their combined arms imports by 143% between 2016-20 and 2021-25, showing that the continent’s rearmament push extends well beyond emergency shipments to Kyiv.
“Deliveries to Ukraine since 2022 are the most obvious factor,” Mathew George, director of SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Programme, said. A Reuters report on Monday’s data said Europe also replaced the Middle East as the biggest destination for U.S. arms exports for the first time in two decades, underscoring how sharply procurement patterns have shifted.
A trend years in the making
The latest jump did not come out of nowhere. In March 2025, Reuters reported on SIPRI’s 2020-24 figures that Europe’s arms imports had already surged 155%, lifting the region’s share of world imports to 28%. One year earlier, a separate Reuters report on SIPRI’s 2019-23 update put the increase at 94%, showing a clear three-year acceleration rather than a one-off spike.
The new figures also point to a deeper strategic tension for Europe. Even as governments talk more openly about building domestic defense industries and reducing dependence on Washington, the continent is still leaning heavily on U.S. aircraft, missile defenses and other high-end systems. SIPRI said U.S. arms exports to Europe rose 217% in the latest five-year period, reinforcing how demand for speed and advanced capability is still outweighing efforts to source more within Europe.
That leaves Europe trying to balance two priorities at once: rebuilding military capacity quickly and developing a stronger domestic industrial base over time. The latest SIPRI figures suggest the rearmament drive is becoming a structural shift in the global arms market rather than a short-lived wartime spike.
