Sales by the world’s top 100 defense companies reached a record high last year. Ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza drove global demand for weapons, particularly in Europe. South Korean defense firms, including those under Hanwha Group that rank among the top 100 globally, also posted significant revenue growth.
According to the “2024 Top 100 Arms-Producing and Military Services Companies Report” released Dec. 1 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, global sales by the top 100 defense companies reached $679 billion last year, up 5.9% from 2023. The report attributed the increase to rising military spending driven by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and heightened regional geopolitical tensions.
In South Korea, the four major defense companies—Hanwha Group, Hyundai Rotem, LIG Nex1, and Korea Aerospace Industries—were included in the global top 100 defense firms for the second consecutive year following 2023. Their combined revenue last year reached $14.1 billion, or about 21 trillion won, up roughly 31% from 2023. During the same period, their share of total revenue among the top 100 companies rose from 1.7% to 2.1%, a 0.4 percentage point increase.
By individual company rankings, Hanwha Group climbed from 24th in 2023 to 21st last year, bringing it closer to the world’s top 20 defense companies. LIG Nex1 and Hyundai Rotem also improved, moving from 73rd to 60th and 84th to 80th, respectively. Korea Aerospace Industries dropped from 54th to 70th after a decline in sales.
In terms of national revenue share among the top 100 defense companies, South Korea ranked 10th with 2.1%, behind the United States (49%), China (13%), the United Kingdom (7.7%), Russia (4.6%) and France (3.8%). South Korea’s share was similar to Israel (2.4%), Germany (2.2%) and Japan (2.0%).
Seong-Mo Kim mo@donga.com
