Korean Arms Exports in Numbers

South Korea is now one of the world's 10 largest arms exporters. Here are its arms exports in numbers, from SIPRI.

No. 9

arms exporter in the world in 2021–25

South Korea supplied 3.0% of the world's exports of major arms in 2021–25, ninth among all countries, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

+24%

more arms exports than in 2016–20

SIPRI compares five-year periods. South Korea's share of world arms exports rose from 2.6% in 2016–20 to 3.0% in 2021–25.

47%

of Poland's arms imports came from South Korea

In 2021–25, Poland received 47% of its major arms from South Korea and 44% from the United States, according to SIPRI.

8.6%

of European NATO members' arms imports were Korean

In 2021–25, South Korea was the second-largest supplier to European NATO members after the United States (58%), ahead of Israel (7.7%) and France (7.4%).

58%

of South Korea's arms exports went to Poland

The next largest buyers in 2021–25 were the Philippines (18%) and the United Arab Emirates (9.5%).

The 10 largest arms exporters, 2021–25

Unit: % of global arms exports. SIPRI Fact Sheet, Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2025 (March 2026), table 1. SIPRI measures the volume of deliveries of major weapons, not their sale price, over five-year periods.

Data table

Name	% of global arms exports
United States	42
France	9.8
Russia	6.8
Germany	5.7
China	5.6
Italy	5.1
Israel	4.4
United Kingdom	3.4
South Korea	3.0
Spain	2.3

All sources for the numbers on this site

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