Arms sales still a minor share of Russian exports

President Putin recently put the value of Russian arms exports last year at just over $15 billion, only a few per cent more than in 2015. Arms exports in 2016 accounted for about 5 % of total goods exports. The value of new export orders received last year was some $9.5 billion, a considerable drop from previous years ($26 billion in 2015 and $14 billion in 2014). Russia had about $50 billion in arms exports on its order-book at the end of last year.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimates that the volume of Russian arms exports increased by 16 % last year. Much of that growth came from exports to Algeria and Vietnam, which have become Russia's top arms exports markets after India. The volume of exports, however, was still well below the peak years of 2011 and 2012. For the past years, SIPRI has ranked Russia as the world's second largest arms exporter after the United States, with about a 20 % share.

Russian arms exports

Sources: SIPRI, Russian presidential administration.