globalArmsTransfers

An Interactive visualisation of global arms transfers from 1950 to 2017

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2026 overhaul (built with AI-tools)

Project was substantially reworked with the help of AI-tools The original 2017 version is preserved, unchanged, on the Original branch

This was updated:

Dataset updated to 1950–2025

The SIPRI Arms Transfers data was re-fetched and rebuilt from the per-year trade-register exports, extending coverage from 1950–2017 to 1950–2025.

Source: SIPRI Arms Transfers Database — https://doi.org/10.55163/SAFC1241

New consolidations

• Modern spellings / historical entities: Turkiye → Turkey, North Macedonia → Macedonia, United Arab Emirates → UAE, Czechia → Czech Republic, Bosnia-Herzegovina → Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde → Cape Verde, eSwatini → Swaziland, Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) → North Yemen, Katanga → DR Congo, and unified Germany → Germany (FRG) (reusing the original FRG map shape/location key).
• Additional non-state / faction groups → host country: Darfur rebels / RSF / SPLA → Sudan; PLO / Hamas / Palestinian Islamic Jihad / PRC → Palestine; House of Representatives & NTC → Libya; EPLF → Ethiopia; FAN → Chad; MPLA → Angola; FRELIMO → Mozambique; PAIGC → Guinea-Bissau; Kurdistan Regional Government → Iraq; LRA → Uganda; MNLF → Philippines; United Wa State → Myanmar; NLA → Macedonia; Pathet Lao → Laos; PKK → Turkey; Provisional IRA → United Kingdom; RPF → Rwanda; RUF → Sierra Leone; Houthi & Southern rebels → Yemen.
• Dropped entirely the African Union, European Union, NATO, OSCE, Regional Security System and United Nations, plus unknown supplier/recipient/rebel entries.

Frontend ported to WebGL

The animation was rewritten from the original Canvas2D + jQuery + Spectrum stack into a dependency-free WebGL-based version:

• WebGL dot renderer
• Full-screen, responsive map
• draggable timeline

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The original README follows, unchanged.

• Heavily inspired by Will Geary's (@wgeary) Video - https://vimeo.com/286751571

• SVG Map by AMCharts - https://www.amcharts.com/svg-maps/?map=world

• Dataset retrieved from SIPRI - https://www.sipri.org/databases/armstransfers

• Thanks to Jsvine for this neat trick to download the set as CSV - https://gist.github.com/jsvine/9cb3300588ed402160fe

• Cleaned dataset by removing:

  • All deals where Supplier or Recipient is unknown.
  • All deals which had multiple sellers without specification which.
  • Deals with the UN, NATO, Regional Security System (RSSS), OSCE & African Union as seller or buyer

• and consolidating the following groups:

  • Amal (Lebanon)* -> Lebanon
  • ANC (South Africa)* -> South Africa
  • Anti-Castro rebels (Cuba)* -> Cuba
  • Armas (Guatemala) -> Guatemala
  • Biafra -> Nigeria
  • contras (Nicaragua)* -> Nicaragua
  • El Salvador (FMLN) -> El Salvador
  • ELF (Ethiopia)* -> Ethiopia
  • FNLA (Angola)* -> Angola
  • GUNT (Chad)* -> Chad
  • Haiti Rebels -> Haiti
  • Hezbollah (Lebanon)* -> Lebanon
  • Huthi rebels (Yemen)* -> Yemen
  • Indonesia Rebels -> Indonesia
  • Khmer Rouge (Cambodia)* -> Cambodia
  • Lebanon Palestinian rebels* -> Lebanon
  • LF (Lebanon)* -> Lebanon
  • libya GNC -> Libya
  • Libya HoR -> Libya
  • LTTE (Sri Lanka)* -> Sri Lanka
  • Macedonia (FYROM) -> Macedonia
  • MTA (Myanmar)* -> Myanmar
  • Mujahedin (Afghanistan)* -> Afghanistan
  • Northern Alliance (Afghanistan)* -> Afghanistan
  • Northern Cyprus -> Cyprus
  • SLA (Lebanon)* -> Lebanon
  • SNA (Somalia)* -> Somalia
  • Southern rebels (Yemen)* -> Yemen
  • Soviet Union -> Russia
  • Syria Rebels -> Syria
  • UIC (Somalia)* -> Somalia
  • Ukraine Rebels* -> Ukraine
  • UNITA (Angola)* -> Angola
  • Viet Cong -> Vietnam
  • Viet Minh -> Vietnam
  • Viet Nam -> Vietnam
  • ZAPU -> Zimbabwe

• Other plugins used:

  • Color Picker - https://bgrins.github.io/spectrum/ by bgrins
  • jQuery */