Turkey’s defense industry exports have increased by 103% over the past five years, boosting the country’s share in global arms exports, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The report, which analyzes global arms transfers, revealed that the overall volume of major arms trade declined by 0.6% in the 2020-2024 period compared to 2015-2019.
The United States, France, Russia, China, and Germany remained the world’s top five arms exporters during the period.
Shifting Global Arms Market
The war in Ukraine has reshaped the global arms market, with U.S. defense firms increasing their share of global exports from 35% in 2015-2019 to 43% in 2020-2024, a 21% rise.
Meanwhile, France’s share of the market grew from 8.6% to 9.6%, reflecting increased European defense investments in response to heightened security concerns.
Russia’s global arms export share fell from 21% to 7.8%, while China’s share slipped from 6.2% to 5.9%. German arms exports also saw a slight decline, from 5.7% to 5.6%.
Turkey Ranks 11th in Global Arms Exports
According to SIPRI, Turkish defense firms increased their share of global arms exports from 0.8% in 2015-2019 to 1.7% in 2020-2024, ranking Turkey as the 11th-largest arms exporter worldwide.
During this period, Turkey’s top defense export destinations were the United Arab Emirates (18%), Pakistan (10%), and Qatar (9.9%).
Turkey’s Arms Imports Drop 33%
Turkey has significantly reduced its dependence on foreign defense imports as domestically produced military equipment and technology replace previously imported systems.
SIPRI data shows that Turkey’s arms imports fell by 33% between 2015-2019 and 2020-2024. The country’s share of global arms imports dropped from 1.7% to 1.1%, placing Turkey 22nd among the world’s largest arms importers.
The leading arms suppliers to Turkey during this period were Spain (34%), Italy (24%), and Germany (19%).
