21 February 2017

News Story: Global arms sales reach highest level since end of Cold War - study

STOCKHOLM, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Global arms trade in the last five years has reached its highest point since the end of the Cold War, with the United States remaining the world's largest weapons exporter, a study said on Monday.

The volume of international transfers of major weapons has grown continuously since 2004 and increased by 8.4 percent between 2007-2011 and 2012-2016, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in Sweden.

As the top arms exporter during the five years through 2016, the United States accounted for a one-third share of all weapon exports worldwide, the study said.

Read the full story at Xinhua