Who's arming the developing world?

Weapons of mass distribution

Aug 31st 2012, 15:02 by The Economist online

Who's arming the developing world?

ARMS deliveries to developing countries last year were the highest since 2004, totaling $28 billion, or around 60% of global sales. America and Russia, the world’s leading arms suppliers, accounted for around two-thirds of deliveries to the developing world. America’s exports in particular are helped by a long-standing client base, which orders upgrades, spare parts and support services every year. Arms deals were buoyed last year by unusually high demand from Saudi Arabia. The Middle Eastern country is the developing world’s biggest arms buyer; deliveries were $2.8 billion in 2011. India, which is Russia’s biggest high-value arms client, was close behind, with $2.7 billion-worth of deliveries last year.