Spending on nuclear weapons by the world’s nine nuclear-armed states rose by almost a fifth in 2025 to $119 billion, a report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) said on Tuesday – the highest level since the Nobel Peace Prize-winning campaign group began tracking annual nuclear arms expenditure in 2020.
The 19% increase from 2024 reflects a broad and accelerating global push to modernise and expand nuclear arsenals at a time of heightened geopolitical tension, with conflicts in the Middle East and Europe fuelling defence spending across major powers.
The United States Leads In Spending
The United States spent $69.2 billion on nuclear weapons in 2025, more than all other nuclear-armed states combined, and recorded the largest single-year increase of any country, at 22%.
ICAN attributed the surge to a general rise in U.S. military spending as well as an active programme to rebuild and modernise its nuclear arsenal.
Washington’s dominance in nuclear expenditure underscores its continued commitment to maintaining strategic superiority, even as rivals China and Russia expand their own capabilities.
Other Major Spenders
China came in second, increasing its nuclear spending by 7% to $13.5 billion, reflecting its ongoing efforts to expand the size and sophistication of its arsenal.
Britain overtook Russia to become the third-biggest spender, with a 17% increase bringing its total to $12.6 billion.
Russia, despite waging a costly war in Ukraine, spent $9.5 billion, a 6% increase, suggesting that nuclear modernisation remains a priority for Moscow even under significant economic pressure.
France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel round out the nine states tracked by ICAN, all of which continued to invest in their nuclear capabilities.
A Call For Elimination
ICAN, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for its efforts to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, advocates for their total elimination.
The group has warned that rising expenditure signals a dangerous erosion of disarmament norms at a moment when diplomatic channels between nuclear powers are increasingly strained.
With global nuclear spending now at its highest recorded level, the gap between the world’s stated disarmament commitments and its actual behaviour has rarely looked wider.
(with input from Reuters)
