Sales of arms and military services by the world’s largest arms-producing and military services companies — the SIPRI Top 100 — totalled $374.8bn in 2016, according to new international arms industry data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

This is 1.9% higher than the previous year, and is the first uptick after five consecutive years of decline. That decline followed an increase of 60% over the period 2002-2010.

Among the highlights of the 2016 figures:

• At a combined total of $217.2bn, arms sales of US companies listed in the SIPRI Top 100 grew by 4%, driven by US military operations overseas and acquisitions of large weapon systems by other countries.

• The combined arms sales of companies in Western Europe listed in the SIPRI Top 100 remained stable in 2016 at a total of $91.6bn (+0.2%). However, SIPRI notes that the trends for arms sales in the largest arms-producing countries (the UK, France, Italy and Germany) showed clear divergences. There were overall decreases in the arms sales of Trans-European, French and Italian companies, while companies in the UK and Germany recorded overall increases.

• The combined arms sales of Russian companies listed in the SIPRI Top 100 increased by 3.8%, to $26.6bn. Russian companies accounted for 7.1% of the overall total.

• Arms sales of South Korean companies soared 20.6%, to 8.4bn, as the country pursues its goal of becoming a major arms exporter.

• Japan’s largest arms companies experienced sharp falls in 2016: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ arms sales decreased by 4.8%, while those of Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation declined by 16.3% and 29.2%, respectively.