African arms imports fell by almost 50% in the last decade; West African imports rose sharply.
While the volume of arms imports by states across Africa overall decreased by 41% between the 2016-2020 and 2021-2025 periods, West African arms transfers rose sharply as the security situation in the region deteriorated. This is according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which has released new reports on global arms transfers recently. […]