In the wake of its devastating defeat in World War II, Japan was completely demilitarized under the U.S. Post-Surrender Policy aimed at ensuring it would not again “become a menace to the United States or to peace and security of the world.” Japan turned to building its crippled nation, and over the ensuing decades, grew to become the world’s third-largest economy — all largely without much in terms of military spending.
But the situation changed in 2017, when then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that his budget proposal would scrap a cap on military spending, set at 1% of GDP, and commit to bolstering Japan’s armed forces amid China’s growing military might in the region.
In fact, Japan’s military spending has continued to grow since, with weapons imports growing by more than $1 billion from 2019 to 2021 compared to the three previous years. This was the fourth largest import growth amount over that period, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Japan spent $2.6 billion on weapons imports in those years.
To compare, as a group, the North American Treaty Organization spent $665 million on military weapons imports from 2019 to 2021, up from just $58 million in the previous three-year period. (Also see, the largest weapons manufacturers outside the U.S..)
To identify the countries with the largest increases in weapons imports, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed historical data on military spending from independent conflict, armament, and arms control research institute SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Database. Countries were ranked based on the increase in dollar terms in weapons imports from the three-year period of 2016-2018 to 2019-2021. We only considered countries with data for all six years. All other data came from SIPRI, except for 2021 population figures, which are from the World Bank.
The world’s military exports, and military spending as a whole, are on the rise. Three other countries besides Japan increased their weapons imports by more than $1 billion in the three years ending in 2021 compared to the three years ending in 2018, led by India, which increased weapons import spending by $2.9 billion, Qatar ($2.7 billion increase) and the Netherlands ($1.4 billion increase).
Seventeen countries, including eight NATO members, increased their weapons imports by more than $100 million in 2019-21 compared to 2016-18. The United States ranks fifth, increasing weapons imports by $972 million, followed by Kuwait and the Philippines. After Germany’s $137 million increase, no country had an increase of more than $100, with the next highest being the United Kingdom’s $94 million increase.
The U.S. is the largest source of weapons imports to seven countries, with five of them importing aircraft from the U.S., one importing missiles (Poland), and one importing armored vehicles (Kuwait). In general, the most commonly imported weapon is aircraft, with 12 countries most commonly importing those. (These are the countries buying the most weapons from the U.S. government.)
Here are the countries where weapons imports are increasing the fastest.
Source: ewg3D / iStock via Getty Images
17. Germany
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$137 million (+122.3%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $249 million — #48 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $112 million — #67 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: Israel — $90 million
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Sensors — $62 million
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $158.2 billion — #8 highest of 144
> Total population: 83,196,078 — #15 largest out of 152
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Source: Solange_Z / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
16. Chile
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$222 million (+136.2%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $385 million — #37 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $163 million — #56 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: Australia — $242 million
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Ships — $240 million
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $16.7 billion — #37 highest of 144
> Total population: 19,493,184 — #54 largest out of 152
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Sean Gallup / Getty Images News via Getty Images
15. Lithuania
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$237 million (+551.2%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $280 million — #45 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $43 million — #88 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: Germany — $106 million
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Armored vehicles — $85 million
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $3.5 billion — #68 highest of 144
> Total population: 2,800,839 — #123 largest out of 152
Source: Chris Hondros / Getty Images News via Getty Images
14. Nigeria
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$248 million (+177.1%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $388 million — #36 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $140 million — #58 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: China — $139 million
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Aircraft — $182 million
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $8.9 billion — #52 highest of 144
> Total population: 213,401,323 — #7 largest out of 152
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Source: Plougmann / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
13. Denmark
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$252 million (+124.1%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $455 million — #32 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $203 million — #54 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: United States — $232 million
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Aircraft — $220 million
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $14.9 billion — #40 highest of 144
> Total population: 5,856,733 — #101 largest out of 152
Source: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images News via Getty Images
12. South Korea
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$282 million (+8.8%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $3.5 billion — #6 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $3.2 billion — #8 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: United States — $2.4 billion
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Aircraft — $2.1 billion
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $139.6 billion — #10 highest of 144
> Total population: 51,744,876 — #24 largest out of 152
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
11. Norway
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$299 million (+29.3%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $1.3 billion — #15 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $1.0 billion — #24 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: United States — $1.1 billion
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Aircraft — $1.2 billion
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $23.1 billion — #29 highest of 144
> Total population: 5,408,320 — #107 largest out of 152
10. Serbia
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$312 million (+380.5%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $394 million — #35 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $82 million — #72 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: Russia — $217 million
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Aircraft — $242 million
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $3.5 billion — #66 highest of 144
> Total population: 6,834,326 — #96 largest out of 152
Source: Alexandros Michailidis / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
9. Belgium
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$342 million (+2,850.0%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $354 million — #40 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $12 million — #115 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: Spain — $292 million
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Aircraft — $292 million
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $16.5 billion — #38 highest of 144
> Total population: 11,592,952 — #72 largest out of 152
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Source: Kamila Kozioå‚ (Koziolkamila) / iStock via Getty Images
8. Poland
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$344 million (+122.9%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: +$624 million — #25 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $280 million — #49 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: United States — $263 million
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Missiles — $262 million
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $39.2 billion — #19 highest of 144
> Total population: 37,747,124 — #35 largest out of 152
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
7. Philippines
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$364 million (+69.9%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $885 million — #20 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $521 million — #37 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: South Korea — $495 million
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Ships — $482 million
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $11.3 billion — #46 highest of 144
> Total population: 113,880,328 — #12 largest out of 152
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Source: Pool / Getty Images News via Getty Images
6. Kuwait
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$642 million (+173.5%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $1.0 billion — #18 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $370 million — #43 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: United States — $570 million
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Armored vehicles — $629 million
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $23.3 billion — #28 highest of 144
> Total population: 4,250,114 — #115 largest out of 152
Source: DanielBendjy / E+ via Getty Images
5. United States of America
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$972 million (+71.6%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $2.3 billion — #9 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $1.4 billion — #20 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: United Kingdom — $694 million
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Aircraft — $743 million
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $2.3 trillion — #1 highest of 144
> Total population: 331,893,745 — #3 largest out of 152
Source: ziggy_mars / iStock via Getty Images
4. Japan
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$1.1 billion (+75.1%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $2.5 billion — #8 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $1.4 billion — #19 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: United States — $2.5 billion
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Aircraft — $2.1 billion
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $157.1 billion — #9 highest of 144
> Total population: 125,681,593 — #10 largest out of 152
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Source: thehague / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
3. Netherlands
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$1.4 billion (+555.2%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $1.7 billion — #13 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $252 million — #51 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: United States — $1.6 billion
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Aircraft — $1.5 billion
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $38.8 billion — #20 highest of 144
> Total population: 17,533,044 — #59 largest out of 152
2. Qatar
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$2.7 billion (+124.2%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $4.9 billion — #3 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $2.2 billion — #12 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: France — $2.3 billion
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Aircraft — $2.8 billion
> Military spending, 2019-2021: N/A
> Total population: 2,688,235 — #125 largest out of 152
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Source: abhisheklegit / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
1. India
> Military imports growth, 2016-18 to 2019-21: +$2.9 billion (+38.2%)
> Military imports, 2019-2021: $10.7 billion — #1 highest of 154
> Military imports, 2016-2018: $7.7 billion — #2 highest of 142
> Most common source of weapons imports, 2019-2021: Russia — $4.2 billion
> Most common weapon type imported, 2019-2021: Aircraft — $5.6 billion
> Military spending, 2019-2021: $221.0 billion — #3 highest of 144
> Total population: 1,407,563,842 — #2 largest out of 152
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