The Economic Importance of the German Arms Industry 2013

This figure shows the share of arms export licenses in the German gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015. The large square shows the entire GDP while the small square on the right-hand side shows the magnified share of arms in GDP in billions of euro The square in the magnifying glass shows the original ratio of GDP to armaments.

Facts

Germany is among the top 10 arms exporting nations in the world. Still, as this figure shows, the share of export licenses for the German arms industry is minimal compared to the total German gross domestic product. In 2015, Germany had a GDP of 3,026.6 billion euro, of which 7.8 billion euro represented arms export licenses. In relative terms, armaments represent a mere 0.26 percent of the entire GDP and are therefore of little importance to Germany's economy.

Terms, notes on methodology or reading aids

The Gross domestic product (GDP) is the total value of everything produced by all the people and companies within a country's borders over a year. Part of GDP are the production of goods and services in a country after deduction of preliminary work (goods and services that were used to manufacture other goods) and imports. The height of the GDP is therefore used as an indicator of a country's economic performance. The term arms or armament includes all goods that mainly or only can be used for military purposes such as weapons but also goods such as uniforms, transport vehicles with camouflage paint or electronic goods, such as radio units. A special category of arms are military weapons. It is the primary purpose of these weapons to be used during war, and they are defined in the German War Weapons Control Act (KWWG). The annual arms exports reports of the German government contain all licenses granted for the export of arms. Statistical records of actual exports are only held for military weapons. Licenses granted are valid for one year. Some equipment is exported in the same year, some the following year, some not at all. This is the case when procurement plans have changed in the recipient country.

Data sources

German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) The German government publishes its arms exports report annually that reports on its export policies regarding conventional arms This report contains the total number of individual export licences together with an export list; the export of all arms is subject to approval. This list is derived from the Common Military List of the European Union and the list contained in the Wassenaar Arrangement Each license application is subject to individual assessment by the government in which primarily foreign, security and human rights policies play an important role in deciding in favour or against such an application. Its decisions are based on the "common rules governing the control of exports of military technology and equipment".

Arms exports report of the German government

BICC 09/2016