10 Countries that Export the Most Weapons in the World

4. France

Total TIV 2000 – 2015: 26,594

For a while, it seemed that failed deal with Russia regarding two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships would put a serious dent into France’s weapons exports. However, it turned out that there’s no shortage of buyers for two state-of-the-art ships, and they were sold to Egypt instead, for €950 million (about 1.06 billion USD). Egypt also purchased 24 Dassault Rafale fighters. The Middle East is a traditional market for French weaponry, including the top weapons buyer in recent years, Saudi Arabia. Similar to other NATO countries, there’s a growing pressure in France to reduce or even stop altogether all arms deals with the oil-rich kingdom, due to growing concerns about human rights violations in that country.