The US and Russia still dominate arms exports, but China’s catching up
The US is still the world's biggest exporter of arms, according to research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Our western neighbour currently was responsible for 31 per cent of all exports across the world between 2010 and 2014, followed closely by Russia with 27 per cent.
All other nations fell a long way behind, indicating the two superpowers still dominate the sector, but China appears to be upping its contribution at a very fast pace.
Coming in third place with a comparatively small five per cent, China overtook a host of European countries during the four-year period, including the UK. The country's exports went up by 143 per cent compared to the previous five years, which was much greater than the worldwide increase of just 16 per cent.
The main importers of China's arms during that time were Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Together, these accounted for more than two-thirds of the total.
The UK fell into sixth place, slightly behind Germany and France, which fell into fourth and fifth place, respectively.