Who supplies arms to India and Pakistan?
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan continue to drive arms imports on both sides.
From 2020 to 2024, India ranked as the world’s second-largest arms importer behind only Ukraine accounting for 8.3% of global arms imports. While Russia remains India’s primary arms supplier, its share has declined as India increasingly turns to France, Israel, and the United States for military equipment.
On the other side, Pakistan saw a 61% increase in arms imports between the periods 2015–2019 and 2020–2024, driven by acquisitions such as combat aircraft and warships. Globally, Pakistan ranked fifth in arms imports during 2020–2024, making up 4.6% of total imports.
China has been Pakistan’s dominant arms supplier since the 1990s and accounted for 81% of its arms imports in 2020–2024. In comparison, Russia provided 36% of India’s arms imports during the same timeframe.
