Welcome to SIPRI

SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public. SIPRI is named as one of the world's leading think tanks in Foreign Policy magazine's "Think Tank Index". Read more about SIPRI >>

News

New SIPRI Newsletter out now!
Read the online version here.
Vacancies
SIPRI seeks a dynamic China specialist to work as Senior Researcher with its rapidly growing China and Global Security Programme. Read more.
SIPRI is also recruiting an in-house editor to join its publications and communications team. Read more.
Controlling conflict resources in the DRC

The continuing conflict in eastern DRC is fuelled by the sale of valuable minerals from mines controlled by both rebel groups and army units. In a new Policy Brief, SIPRI Researcher Ruben de Koning explores the challenges and opportunities of industry-, government- and donor-led proposals for regulating the DRC's mineral trade, explaining that the first essential step is to demilitarize mining sites.

Read more
New Chairman of the Board of SIPRI appointed
On 23 June, the Swedish Government appointed Göran Lennmarker as the new Chairman of the Governing Board of SIPRI. He will formally take up this position in September 2010. He succeeds Ambassador Rolf Ekéus who will be stepping down, having served his mandated 10-year term. Read more
Event: China and Global Security - Can Europe be Brought Back into the Game?
Has the EU's China policy failed? From non-proliferation to peacekeeping, Beijing shares most of the EU's security aims, but the scope of common actions has failed to live up to the initial expectations. In a new US-China dualism, how can Europe be brought back into the game? Read more about the event here. Read the press release about the key outcome here.
Ukrainian translation of SIPRI Yearbook 2009 available now
The Ukrainian translation of SIPRI Yearbook 2009: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security has now been published and is available from the Razumkov Centre—Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies (UCEPS), Kyiv. The translation of the SIPRI Yearbook is funded by a grant from the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport, which also supports Chinese and Russian translations.
For more information, contact the Razumkov Centre, Kyiv. For more information on other translations of the Yearbook, click here.
SIPRI at the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York
Read SIPRI's briefing on perspectives of non-nuclear weapon states concerning the 2010 NPT Review Conference here. Read the essay by SIPRI Chairman of the Board Amb Rolf Ekéus on a world free of nuclear weapons here.
26 April: New SIPRI Report: China will seek to balance...
...between nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states at the upcoming non-proliferation conference in New York next week. Read the press release and the report on China's nuclear positions and future policies.
12 April: 6 BAE Systems No. 1 in global arms sales in 2008
With arms sales reaching $32.4 billion in 2008, BAE Systems is the first non-US company to lead SIPRI's Top 100 list of the largest arms-producing companies. Following BAE in the top 5 are Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics (all of the USA). Read more. Picture: Lockheed Martin F-16

In Focus: SIPRI Yearbook

SIPRI Yearbook Media Launch 2 June, Issue Seminar 7 June
SIPRI Yearbook 2010 cover

The 2010 SIPRI Yearbook is launched. Read the press release here. Check out the sample chapters and short summary here. SIPRI held a SIPRI Yearbook Issue Seminar on nuclear non-proliferation on 7 June. Read more.

Databases

SIPRI Military Expenditure Database

The SIPRI Military Expenditure Database will be updated on 3 June with SIPRI's latest data. The database provides a consistent time series on the military spending of 172 countries since 1988. Data are provided by country in the following three formats:

in local currency, at current prices. 1988-2009
in US dollars, at constant (2008) prices and exchange rates, 1988-2009
as a share (%) of gross domestic product (GDP), 1988-2008

Enter the database here.

Activities in September

Sept 9, Stockholm

SIPRI Lecture: Regional powers: explaining regional security order in Brazil, India and Russia

Dr Robert Stewart-Ingersoll (Department of International Studies at the American University of Sharjah) and Dr Derrick Frazier (US Air Command and Staff College) present their ‘regional powers and security framework’, which helps to systematically identify regional powers and to understand their influence on the security order within their region. Special attention will be paid to the relationships between Brazil, India and Russia and their respective regional security complexes. Contact SIPRI Communications Director Stephanie Blenckner for registration.

Sept 3, Brussels

MERCURY Conference: "Challenges for global Europe"

SIPRI’s MERCURY Project and the University of Edinburgh’s Europa Institute will host a half-day conference on the EU's role in the evolving global order; reflecting on post-Lisbon challenges, the repercussions of the Greek bailout and record-breaking deficits, on how to salvage the failed Copenhagen talks; and assessing what steps to take to alleviate mounting political pressure over migration. Panelists include Lionel Barber (Financial Times), Jim Cloos (European Council), Jonathan Faull (DG MARKT, European Commission), Sebastian Oberthuer (Free University, Brussels), Wolfgang Wessels (University of Cologne) and John Peterson (University of Edinburgh). Entry is free but limited. Read more and register here. Contact SIPRI Senior Researcher Dr Gunilla Herolf for further information.