Norwegian exports of weapons 2009-2013

Drop in export of weapons

Published:

The value of Norwegian exports of military equipment dropped by over NOK 400 million in 2013, to a total of about NOK 2.1 billion. Weapon exports have fallen every year since their peak in 2008. The group military weapons and parts for weapons decreased the most, down NOK 580 million.

Based on customs declarations, Norwegian exports of military equipment amounted to almost NOK 2.1 billion in 2013. Bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, rockets and similar equipment were the largest group and amounted to over NOK 1 billion in 2013. This is the first time since 2004 that this group has been the largest. Exports within this group increased by NOK 178 million.

Note that the figures presented in this article are based on reported commodity exports of munitions. These do not take into account any incorrect reporting or illegal trade in weapons, which may be substantial in some countries. This makes it difficult to comment on Norway’s actual position in the world market.

Figure 1

Exports of weapons and ammunition by groupings. Portion of yearly value

Figure 2

Exports of weapons and ammunition to selected countries of destination. Portion of yearly value

Increase in exports to USA

The three largest receivers of Norwegian weapons in 2013, in terms of value, were the USA, Sweden and Poland. Exports to the USA increased by NOK 79 million from 2012 to 2013 and amounted to NOK 567 million. The USA has long been the largest buyer of Norwegian weapons, and 2013 is the first year since 2008 that these exports increased. The value of weapons to Sweden amounted to NOK 334 million, while the corresponding figure for Poland was NOK 295 million. This is an increase of NOK 223 million and NOK 47 million respectively.

The largest decrease in weapons exports is found for Chile and Switzerland, which fell NOK 299 million and NOK 220 million respectively. Exports to these countries amounted to NOK 0.5 million and NOK 90 million in 2013. The weapons trade with Chile has traditionally been low, but peaked in connection with a new agreement in 2012. Trade in weapons with Switzerland peaked in 2011 and 2012, but this high level has now fallen.

Differences between the statistics and figures in the Report to the Storting

The total value of exports of tanks, weapons and ammunition in Statistics Norway’s statistics differs somewhat from the export value of defence equipment stated in the yearly reports to the Storting. As opposed to the definition used by Statistics Norway, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs includes repair trade and trade in services in their export figures for defence equipment, as well as some other commodity groups not included in Statistics Norway’s definition. In addition, the time of recording and errors in customs declarations may have an impact.

Delineation of weapons and ammunition

Statistics Norway compiles figures on exports of weapons from customs declarations submitted by exporters based on the Norwegian customs tariff. The commodity group ‘tanks, weapons and ammunition’ comprises:

1) Commodity group 87.10 in the Harmonized System (HS): Armoured fighting vehicles and parts for such vehicles

2) All national commodity codes in HS chapter 93: Weapons, ammunition and parts

Together these two groups comprise the SITC Rev. 3 and 4, group 891 of the UN classification of goods in external trade. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) uses a different delineation of weapons and ammunition when they publish their international rankings of weapons export.

The statistics include reported goods exported from Norway as ordinary sales and exclude goods in repair trade. Equipment exchanged under military agreements and equipment for national military personnel on duty abroad is exempt from declaration and hence excluded from the statistics.

Note that the statistics on Norwegian exports of weapons and ammunition are not suppressed due to confidentiality.

Other international figures on weapons export

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) publishes figures where the countries of the world are ranked according to the value of their weapons export. The figures differ from those published by Statistics Norway because the data are collected from different sources: Statistics Norway gets its data from reported commodity declarations, while SIPRI uses surveys, media and public documents. The disparity in figures is also due to different definitions, with the SIPRI figures also including war vessels, combat aircraft and technological military equipment.

Tables

Contact