Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Malak EL ALAMI
Published on 2024-03-12 15:55:00
While European arms imports almost doubled between 2014-2018 and 2019-2023, African imports have significantly decreased, mainly due to declines in Algeria (-77%) and Morocco (-46%).
On a global scale, Morocco’s share of arms imports reached 0.8% during 2019-2023 compared to 1.4% during 2014-2018. Specifically, Morocco ranked seventh among Arab countries in terms of arms imports between 2019 and 2023, following countries such as Saudi Arabia (2nd globally), Qatar (2nd globally), Egypt (7th globally), Kuwait (12th globally), the United Arab Emirates (14th globally) and Algeria (21st globally).
During the period 2019-2023, the United States was the main supplier of arms to Morocco, accounting for 69% of its imports, followed by France with 14% and Israel with 11%. This made Morocco the only Arab country importing arms from Israel among the top three suppliers.
In the global ranking, India held the top spot among arms importers, according to the list published by the Stockholm Institute, while a third of imported weapons were destined for the Middle East, with a significant increase in European arms imports.
As for arms exporting countries, the United States ranked first (42%), followed by France (11%), Russia (11%), China (5.8%), and Germany (5.6%).
European arms imports have nearly doubled in the past five years, amplified by the conflict in Ukraine. Between 2019 and 2023, they increased by 94%. Ukraine became the largest European arms importer in 2019-23 and the fourth largest in the world.
Military Spending
Between 2018 and 2022, Morocco reduced its arms imports by 30%, while Algeria saw its share of global arms imports decrease from 4.1% for the period between 2013 and 2017 to 1.8% between 2018 and 2022 (-58%).
In 2020, Morocco spent $4.8 billion, ranking 40th in the world out of 168 countries on the SIPRI list. However, Algeria spent $9.7 billion on arms the same year, a 64% increase since 2015, ranking 24th.
Furthermore, in 2022, Morocco totaled $5.4 billion in arms acquisition. Thus, Morocco and Algeria together represented three-quarters (74%) of military spending in the sub-region. Algeria’s military spending had decreased by 3.7% to $9.1 billion, while Morocco’s remained unchanged at $5.4 billion.
The SIPRI is an independent international research institute on conflicts, weapons, arms control, and disarmament. It was founded in 1966 to provide data, analysis, and recommendations to policymakers, researchers, media, and the general public.
Read the original article(French) on L’Opinion
