That dollar figure results from a 121.8% advance from $444.8 million 5 years earlier in 2021.
Year over year, overall spending on that military weaponry accelerated by 41.4% compared to $697.7 million starting from 2024.
The 5 biggest exporters of non-artillery military weapons are the United States of America, Belgium, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and South Korea. Combined, that quintet of leading international suppliers accounted for 87.3% of globally exported military weapons studied in this article. Such a high percentage indicates a concentrated cohort of weaponry exporters.
Applying a continental lens, suppliers in North America shipped the highest value of non-artillery military weapons at $540.4 million or 54.8% of worldwide exports for this commodity subcategory. In second place were sellers in Europe at 31.6% trailed by those in Asia (12.5%).
Smaller percentages came from providers in Africa (0.6%), Oceania’s Australia and New Zealand (0.34%) then Latin America (0.23%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for military weapons is 930190. (That prefix covers sub-machine guns but excludes artillery weapons like rocket launchers and flame-throwers).
Top Military Weapons Exporters
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of military weapons (excluding artillery products such as rocket launchers and flame-throwers) during 2025.
- United States: US$516.2 million (52.3% of exported non-artillery military weapons)
- Belgium: $197 million (20%)
- United Arab Emirates: $80.9 million (8.2%)
- United Kingdom: $36.6 million (3.7%)
- South Korea: $31 million (3.1%)
- Poland: $27.3 million (2.8%)
- Canada: $24.2 million (2.5%)
- Slovakia: $16.2 million (1.6%)
- Switzerland: $10.9 million (1.1%)
- Romania: $10.3 million (1%)
- Indonesia: $8.3 million (0.8%)
- Netherlands: $7.8 million (0.8%)
- Egypt: $4.3 million (0.4%)
- Australia: $3.3 million (0.3%)
- Ukraine: $2.2 million (0.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.9% of all non-artillery military weapons exported in 2025.
Among the top suppliers, the fastest-growing exporters of non-artillery military weapons since 2024 were: United Arab Emirates (up 29,113%), Egypt (up 290.1%), Netherlands (up 245.6%) and Romania (up 135.6%).
Major suppliers that posted year-over-year declines in their international sales of non-artillery military weapons were: United Kingdom (down -67.9% from 2024), Indonesia (down -57.1%), Switzerland (down -23.1%), Poland (down -8.9%) and Australia (down -4.3%).
Countries Earning Best Trade Surpluses from Military Weapons
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for non-artillery military weapons during 2025. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exports of non-artillery military weapons and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- United States: US$509.1 million (net export surplus up 72.3% from 2024)
- Belgium: $196.5 million (up 36.8%)
- United Arab Emirates: $69.9 million (reversing a -$4.9 million deficit)
- Canada: $17 million (down -21.3%)
- South Korea: $16.6 million (2024 data unavailable)
- Switzerland: $10.9 million (down -23.1%)
- Romania: $8.5 million (reversing a -$6.1 million deficit)
- Poland: $7.1 million (up 264.1%)
- Egypt: $4.3 million (up 290%)
- Slovakia: $753,000 (down -69.2%)
- Chile: $448,000 (down -53%)
- Sierra Leone: $264,000 (2024 data unavailable)
- Oman: $69,000 (up 283.3%)
- Belarus: $25,000 (2024 data unavailable)
- Kuwait: $25,000 (reversing a -$50,000 deficit)
The United States of America generated the highest surplus in the international trade of military weapons. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms America’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Causing Largest Trade Deficits from Military Weapons
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for non-artillery military weapons during 2025. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported non-artillery military weapons purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- Indonesia: -US$122.4 million (net export deficit up 128.1% from 2024)
- Ukraine: -$57.7 million (2024 data unavailable)
- Australia: -$48.6 million (up 237.3%)
- Colombia: -$29 million (up 1376%)
- Norway: -$28 million (up 297.1%)
- Netherlands: -$27.9 million (up 16.8%)
- Brazil: -$25 million (up 109.7%)
- Iraq: -$24.5 million (up 9586.6%)
- Malawi: -$17.7 million (up 6927%)
- Malaysia: -$15 million (up 1562.4%)
- Japan: -$13.5 million (up 1821.5%)
- Pakistan: -$10.3 million (up 5011.9%)
- Nigeria: -$8.8 million (down -97.3%)
- Denmark: -$8.5 million (up 120%)
- Qatar: -$8.4 million (2024 data unavailable)
Overtaking Nigeria, Indonesia incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of non-artillery military weapons. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Indonesia’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for non-artillery military weapons-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
See also Aerospace Exports by Country, Top Industrial Robots Exporters and Top Fireworks Exporters
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on October 26, 2026
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 26, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 26, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 26, 2026