Morocco, One of the Largest Importers of Weapons in Africa

The SIPRI report suggested that Morocco’s arms imports would increase dramatically in the next five years.

A report issued by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) revealed that the imports of major weapons by African countries decreased by 13% between 2011-2015 and 2016-2020.

The Swedish institute indicated, in new data, that Algeria was the largest importer of weapons in Africa during the period from 2016 to 2020, with 4.3% of total global arms imports, followed by Morocco with 0.9%, then Angola with 0.5%.

The data show that the Algerian military regime places state resources, especially oil, at the disposal of arms purchases, part of which is directed to the separatist Polisario Front, despite the difficult economic and social situation the country has been going through during the last ten years.

The report also stated that arms imports “of the regional opponents Morocco and Algeria accounted for a combined 70% of total African imports of major weapons in 2016-2020”, highlighting that Algeria’s arms imports were 64% higher compared to the period of 2011. – 2015, which makes the country the sixth largest importer of weapons in the world.

Reflecting Algeria’s focus on the arms race, the SIPRI report indicated that Morocco’s arms imports fell by 60% between 2011-2015 and 2016-2020. The United States was the Kingdom’s largest supplier of weapons, with a rate of 90% during the period 2016-2020; This means that Moroccan efforts during the past years focused mainly on launching development projects and improving the social status of Moroccan citizens.

The institute stated that many large arms shipments are expected to be received by Morocco as part of the completion of the sales process, including 24 combat aircrafts and 24 combat helicopters from the US. The report suggested that Morocco’s arms imports would increase dramatically in the next five years.

At the international level, Morocco ranked 29th in the list of the largest importers of major weapons in the period of 2016-2020, while Algeria ranked 6th, Egypt (3rd), while Saudi Arabia remains globally the 1st as the largest importer of weapons.