Global arms sales hit a post-Cold War high of $111.6 billion in 2024, according to a report by the Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) seen by Sputnik.
CAWAT conducts all calculations in "current" US dollars, that is, at the dollar exchange rate at the time of concluding a particular contract in the prices of the corresponding year.
"In 2024, the volume of global exports/imports of conventional weapons (according to the UN Register classification) amounted, according to estimates by the [...] CAWAT, to $111.615 billion, which is the highest amount since the end of the Cold War," the report states.
For comparison, the volume of global exports of arms and military equipment (WME) amounted to $82.942 billion in 2021, $106.185 billion in 2022, $96.889 billion in 2023.
According to CAWAT experts, the sharp increase in global arms exports/imports is associated with several factors, including the situation around Ukraine.
