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The world’s nine nuclear-armed nations increased their atomic weapons spending by 20 per cent last year, hitting a record high of nearly $119 billion.
According to a new report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), these countries added nearly $17 billion to their arsenals in 2025 alone.
The group warned that rising geopolitical tensions have sparked a new nuclear arms race that world leaders expect to last for decades.
Susi Snyder, ICAN’s director of programmes and co-author of the report, expressed deep alarm over the escalation, noting that artificial intelligence further increases the risk of nuclear weapons use.
The study confirmed that Britain, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States all boosted their spending last year.
Over the past five years, these nine countries have spent more than $470 billion on their arsenals.
The United States led the surge, spending $69.2 billion in 2025—an increase of $12.4 billion from the previous year and more than all other nuclear states combined.
China followed with an estimated $13.5 billion, while Britain spent $12.6 billion and Russia spent $9.5 billion.
Projections show that these investments will continue to grow, with Britain, France, and the United States planning to spend billions maintaining these systems well into the next century.
For example, the US expects its new Sentinel missiles to remain operational past 2100 and projects its total nuclear arms spending will hit nearly $1 trillion between 2025 and 2034.
The researchers condemned these massive investments, pointing out that global humanitarian systems are currently suffering from severe funding cuts.
Snyder noted that the money spent on nuclear weapons in 2025 could fund the United Nations operating budget for 32 years, while just a single day of spending could feed more than two million people.
She criticised leaders for neglecting healthcare and aid to invest in weapons they cannot use without committing war crimes.
