New york: Global spending on nuclear weapons surged to an unprecedented $119 billion last year, as reported by nonproliferation advocates.
According to Ghana Web, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) revealed that the world's nine nuclear-armed countries collectively increased their arsenals by an additional $16.8 billion in 2025 compared to the previous year. The United States led the spending with an estimated $69.2 billion, marking a $12.6 billion increase, surpassing the combined expenditure of all other nuclear powers.
China followed as the second-highest spender, allocating an estimated $13.5 billion, while the United Kingdom, Russia, and France spent $12.6 billion, $9.5 billion, and $7.7 billion, respectively. Further expenditures were noted by India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea, with amounts ranging from $656 million by Pyongyang to $2.8 billion by New Delhi.
ICAN highlighted that nuclear-armed states have cumulatively spent $471 billion over the past five years, with plans to maintain their arsenals for the foreseeable future. The organization criticized the current spending trend, emphasizing its occurrence amidst significant global investment reductions in the commons, including climate change adaptation agreements and multilateral diplomacy efforts aimed at preventing war.
The release of the report coincided with warnings from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which noted that nuclear states are prioritizing the modernization and enhancement of their arsenals over disarmament commitments. The nine nuclear-armed countries collectively possess over 12,000 warheads, with the US and Russia holding the majority.
In 2017, the United Nations adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first legally-binding global agreement prohibiting nuclear arms. Despite 99 countries signing, ratifying, or acceding to the treaty, no nuclear-armed state has joined. The US and Russia had previously engaged in a series of treaties to limit their arsenals, but the expiration of the New START treaty in February left no current agreements in place.