Article Posted on : - Sep 26, 2011

A file photo.

WASHINGTON (BNS): Global arms sales dropped sharply last year as the world's governments struggled in the economic downturn, according to a new study, the New York Times reported.

According to a report by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, a division of the US Library of Congress, worldwide arms sales in 2010 totalled $40.4 billion, a drop of 38 per cent from the $65.2 billion in arms deals signed in 2009 and the lowest total since 2003.

"Worldwide weapons sales declined generally in 2010 in response to the constraints created by the tenuous state of the global economy," wrote Richard F. Grimmett, a security specialist and author of the report.

India ranked first among all developing nations as the top purchaser, in 2010. The country signed $5.8 billion in weapons transfer deals, the study found.

Other major purchasers were Egypt, Israel, Algeria, Syria, South Korea, Singapore and Jordan.

Major countries such as US and Russia maintained its dominating position in the arms market, even when the world is still in the grip of global economic crisis.

The United States ranked first in worldwide arms sales in 2010, with $21.3 billion or 52.7 percent of these sales, a drop from $22.6 billion in 2009.

Russia was second with $7.8 billion in arms sales in 2010, or 19.3 per cent of the market, compared with $12.8 billion in 2009, the report added.

Following the US and Russia in sales were France, Britain, China, Germany and Italy.