Global Nuclear Weapons Spending Reaches Record $91.4bn in 2023

Global spending on nuclear weapons surged by 13% to a record $91.4 billion in 2023, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) revealed. This increase, amounting to $10.7 billion more than the previous year, is primarily driven by heightened defence budgets in the US amid geopolitical tensions, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

All Nine Nuclear-Armed Countries Up Their Spending

All nine nuclear-armed nations increased their spending, with the US leading at $51.5 billion. China is the second-largest spender with a budget of $11.9 billion, followed by Russia at $8.3 billion. The UK and France allocated $8.1 billion and $6.1 billion, respectively. However, estimating spending for authoritarian states or countries with undeclared nuclear programs like India, Pakistan, and Israel remains challenging due to a lack of transparency.

Susy Snyder, one of the report’s authors, cautioned that nuclear states are “on course to be spending $100 billion a year on nuclear weapons.” She argued that these funds could be better utilized for environmental and social programs.