Top five arms exporters hit yearly sales of $85 billion as 9,000 people die from conflict-driven hunger every day

Global military spending reached $2.2 trillion last year, enough to cover the UN appeal more than 42 times. 

As world leaders meet this week to discuss Protection of Civilians at the UN Security Council, Oxfam calls on them to invest in saving lives instead of promoting wars. 

The world spent yearly an estimated $112 billion on arms imports between 2018-2022, even as 9,000 people die each day from hunger driven primarily by conflict. The top five-arms exporters – the USA, Russia, France, China and Germany - which account for over three-quarters of the global arms trade, together sold an estimated $85 billion worth of arms yearly.  

“For four of the five permanent members of the Security Council to top global arms sales that fuel wars around the globe is hypocritical, complicit and immoral. Their guns and bombs are not only killing innocent civilians in conflict-torn countries, but starving those who survive," said Brenda Mofya, Oxfam’s Head of New York office. 

Global exports of major conventional weapons in 2018-2022 were 4.8% higher than a decade earlier, while over the same period nearly 48,000 civilians were killed in conflicts and wars that also displaced nearly 90 million from their homes. 

“This is just the tip of the iceberg. Warlords and mercenaries are also reaping billions in profit from illegal and off-the-book trafficking of small arms and light weapons that fuel conflict in countries like Somalia and South Sudan,” Mofya said. 

Across the world, ongoing conflict has been the primary driver in pushing 117 million people in 19 countries to extreme hunger last year alone.  

Millions of poor people have been “triple hit” not only by conflict, but also by climate breakdown and economic shocks which are exhausting their abilities to cope and survive. 

Global military spending reached a record $2.2 trillion in 2022, enough to cover the year’s UN global humanitarian appeal ($51.7bn) more than 42 times. In Sub-Saharan Africa, governments spent $19 billion on the military. Meanwhile, African governments spent less on agriculture than they did two decades ago. 

In countries ravaged by conflict like South Sudan, military spending rose by more than 50% last year, even while 7.7 million people (63% of the population) faced extreme hunger.  

Many South Sudanese are resorting to extreme coping mechanisms like child marriage or taking their child out of school to survive. Conflict also directly hampers people’s access to humanitarian aid, with food being weaponized for political gains.  

“As world leaders meet this week to discuss Protection of Civilians at the UN Security Council, they must prioritize peace over profit, and food over firearms. Warring parties must also not weaponize food, and allow aid to reach those who urgently need it,” added Mofya.