Over the past five years, nearly half of all U.S. arms exports have gone to countries in the Middle East. With most states directly involved in violent conflict between 2013 and 2017, the Middle East saw its arms imports double over the past decade with the region accounting for 32 percent of global arms imports between 2013 and 2017. India increased its imports by 24 percent between 2008-12 and 2013-17 with Russia accounting for 62 percent of the country's arms imports in the latter period. Taking that methodology into account, India's reliance on importing weapons rather than manufacturing them domestically is nothing new. Since 1950, the value of India's arms imports has dwarfed most other countries and is nearly double that of Saudi Arabia, according to Sipri.

Source: Forbes March 12, 2018 13:07 UTC