Nuclear weapons spending by the world’s nine nuclear-armed countries increased by 11% in 2024, according to a report released on Friday by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
The $10 billion annual increase to $100.2 billion went towards modernising and in some cases expanding nuclear arsenals, according to ICAN, a global civil society coalition that seeks the total elimination of atomic weapons.
“Nuclear-armed countries could have paid the United Nations‘ budget 28 times with what they spent to build and maintain nuclear weapons in 2024,” the report said.
US Leads Nuclear Spending
The U.S. recorded the largest annual increase in nuclear spending in 2024, rising by $5.3 billion, the report said. Its total expenditure of $56.8 billion exceeded the combined spending of all other nuclear-armed states, it said.
China spent $12.5 billion, followed by Britain at $10.4 billion, which was an increase of $2.2 billion, ICAN said.
It said the other nuclear-armed states were France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and Russia.
“In terms of kind of the increase in spending in the UK and France, I think we certainly have seen, at least in the rhetoric of political leaders, a reference to the ongoing war in Ukraine, to the tensions, and that could be playing a role,” Alicia Sanders-Zakre, a policy and research coordinator at ICAN, told reporters at a briefing in Geneva.
Britain and other allies in NATO now regard Russia as the main security threat to Europe, and some have rolled out plans to devote a higher percentage of GDP to defence spending.
However, Sanders-Zakre said the increase in nuclear expenditure has been more driven by the costs of servicing long-term contracts and the growing expense of developing nuclear delivery systems than by current security concerns.
What Is ICAN?
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is a global civil society coalition working to promote the elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide.
Founded in 2007, ICAN brings together non-governmental organisations from over 100 countries, advocating for disarmament through public awareness, political engagement, and international treaties.
The campaign played a crucial role in the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) by the United Nations in 2017.
In recognition of its efforts, ICAN was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year. It continues to push for global compliance with the TPNW and a nuclear-free world.
(With inputs from Reuters)
