Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: “This is the third consecutive year of decline in the total arms sales of the 100 largest arms producers and military services providers. With a decrease in sales of 2 per cent in real terms compared to 3.9 per cent in 2012, the pace of the decline has slowed slightly. This is partly attributable to significant increases in arms sales by Russian companies and other emerging suppliers. Sales by companies headquartered in the United States and Canada have continued to moderately decrease, while sales by Russian-based companies increased by 20 per cent in 2013. Western Europe offered a more mixed picture, with French companies increasing their sales, sales by British companies remaining stable, and Italian and Spanish arms-producing companies’ sales continuing to decline. ‘The share of global arms sales for companies outside North America and Western Europe has been increasing since 2005,’ says Dr Aude Fleurant, Director of SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure Programme. ‘For 2013, at 15.5 per cent of Top 100 arms sales, this share is at its highest point in the history of the SIPRI Top 100, which does not include China-based companies due to a lack of reliable data.’”