In 2008, Finland shipped arms to nine countries at war or in conflict, including Afghanistan, Israel, India, China, Peru, Thailand, Turkey, Russia and the United States.
Finland sold China some 720,000 cartridges designed for civilian firearms in 2008. The EU meanwhile continues to enforce an arms embargo on China.
In the same year the US purchased five million cartridges aimed for military use as well as 135 kilogrammes of grenade gunpowder.
The majority of Finnish arms exports—close to 100,000 firearms—is destined for the North American market.
SaferGlobe Finland’s research indicates that exports of military equipment and civilian weapons grew by a third between 2004 and 2008 compared to the period spanning from 1999 to 2003.
Finland exports arms and ammunition to 64 countries outside of the European Union.