Russia has become the third largest arms exporter after the United States and France in the period from 2019 to 2023, with its export volumes cut in half, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a research on Monday.

Previously, Russia held second place in the rating.

"Russia was for the first time the third largest arms exporter, falling just behind France. … Russian arms exports fell by 53 per cent between 2014–18 and 2019–23. The decline has been rapid over the course of the past five years, and while Russia exported major arms to 31 states in 2019, it exported to only 12 in 2023. States in Asia and Oceania received 68 per cent of total Russian arms exports in 2019–23, with India accounting for 34 per cent and China for 21 per cent," the institute's research showed.

The top 10 arms exporters include the US, France, Russia, Italy, South Korea, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and Israel, the study said.

"States in Europe almost doubled their imports of major arms (+94 per cent) between 2014–18 and 2019–23," the research also said.

European states have shown greater interest in air defense systems in the past two years amid the Ukraine conflict, SIPRI senior researcher Pieter Wezeman was quoted as saying in the report.

"The USA’s arms exports grew by 17 per cent between 2014–18 and 2019–23, and its share of total global arms exports rose from 34 per cent to 42 per cent. The USA delivered major arms to 107 states in 2019–23, more than it has in any previous five-year period and far more than any other arms exporter. The USA and states in Western Europe together accounted for 72 per cent of all arms exports in 2019–23, compared with 62 per cent in 2014–18," the research said.

France became the second largest arms exporter after the US, increasing shipments by 47%, the institute said.

"The largest share of France’s arms exports (42 per cent) went to states in Asia and Oceania, and another 34 per cent went to Middle Eastern states. The largest single recipient of French arms exports was India, which accounted for nearly 30 per cent. The increase in French arms exports was largely due to deliveries of combat aircraft to India, Qatar and Egypt," the report read.

India has become the world's largest arms importer, receiving its main supplies from Russia, which accounts for 36 percent of India's arms imports.