Morocco becomes Africa’s top arms importer, ranking 28th globally as Algeria drops to 33rd

Morocco has emerged as Africa’s largest importer of major weapons, surpassing neighboring Algeria, according to a new report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The report shows Morocco ranked 28th among the world’s biggest arms importers between 2021 and 2025, while Algeria fell to 33rd place, marking a shift in the military balance between the two North African rivals.

SIPRI said Morocco increased its arms imports by 12% compared with the previous five-year period from 2016 to 2020. The country continues to place orders with several suppliers and had pending deliveries from nations including Spain and the United States at the end of 2025.

Algeria, by contrast, saw a sharp decline, with arms imports falling 78% compared with its peak buying period from 2016 to 2020. Researchers cautioned that Algeria often keeps military purchases secret, and unconfirmed reports of arms deals with Russia during 2021–2025 suggest the real figures could be higher than current estimates.

The report noted that long-standing tensions between Morocco and Algeria remain a key driver of military spending in the region, shaping defense planning across North Africa for decades.

Across the continent, overall arms imports are declining. SIPRI found that African countries reduced imports of major weapons by 41% between the two five-year periods studied. Nevertheless, Morocco and Algeria together still account for a significant share of the continent’s purchases.

The main suppliers of weapons to African nations between 2021 and 2025 were the United States, China, Russia, and France. The United States alone supplied about 19% of Africa’s major arms imports, followed by China with 17%, Russia at 15%, and France at roughly 8.3%.

Globally, the five largest arms exporters were the United States, France, Russia, Germany, and China, together accounting for about 70% of all major weapons sales worldwide. While exports from the U.S., France, Germany, and China increased, Russian exports fell sharply compared with the previous five-year period.

Worldwide demand for weapons also shifted geographically. Europe became the largest destination for arms imports for the first time since the 1960s, representing 33% of global imports between 2021 and 2025.

Asia and Oceania followed with 31%, the Middle East accounted for 26%, and Africa represented only 4.3% of global arms imports during the same period.