The arms industry is a global industry supported by a number of developed countries. Its primary goal is to produce and sell armaments for profit. However, this industry may also be used as leverage or as a bartering tool to extract geopolitical, economic, or other benefits from the recipient countries.

The Scope of the Arms Trade

The industry as a whole relies on thousands of people directly employed in these industries, as well as thousands of people who are employed in various ancillary industries or markets—that is, military, law enforcement, private security, technology, manufacturing, transportation, and others. According to the database Statista, of the 15 countries with the highest military spending worldwide in 2014 (in billion US$), the top five are the United States (610), China ...

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