China vs North America: Arms exports
Arms exports over time
- China
- North America
How they compare
North America currently reports 13.66 billion SIPRI trend indicator values against 1.13 billion SIPRI trend indicator values in China, a difference of 12.53 billion SIPRI trend indicator values.
That makes North America's figure about 12.1 times China's.
Across all 65 years both countries report, North America has been ahead every year.
China ranks 6th and North America ranks 5th of 70 countries.
North America has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | North America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 330.10 million SIPRI trend indicator values | 9.01 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | 8.68 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | North America |
| 1970s | 725.40 million SIPRI trend indicator values | 12.66 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | 11.94 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | North America |
| 1980s | 1.51 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | 12.32 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | 10.81 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | North America |
| 1990s | 829.40 million SIPRI trend indicator values | 12.76 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | 11.93 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | North America |
| 2000s | 577.60 million SIPRI trend indicator values | 6.95 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | 6.37 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | North America |
| 2010s | 1.66 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | 9.59 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | 7.93 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | North America |
| 2020s | 1.68 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | 12.36 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | 10.68 billion SIPRI trend indicator values | North America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher arms exports, China or North America?
- North America, at 13.66 billion SIPRI trend indicator values against 1.13 billion SIPRI trend indicator values in China as of 2024.
- What is the difference in arms exports between China and North America?
- 12.53 billion SIPRI trend indicator values, with North America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and North America?
- 65 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
- How do China and North America rank globally for arms exports?
- China ranks 6th and North America ranks 5th of 70 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Arms Transfers Programme, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published as Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Arms transfers (exports) cover the volume of transfers of major arms through sales and gifts, and those made through manufacturing licenses. Data cover major conventional weapons such as aircraft, armored vehicles, artillery, radar systems, missiles, and ships. Figures are SIPRI Trend Indicator Values (TIVs). A '0' indicates that the volume of deliveries is between 0 and 0.5 million SIPRI TIV.