Global spending on nuclear weapons reached a record $119 billion in 2025, up $16.8 billion from the previous year, according to a new report released Tuesday by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
Among the nine nuclear-armed states, the United States spent the most, an estimated $69.2 billion — an increase of $12.6 billion and more than the combined spending of all other nuclear powers. China ranked second at $13.5 billion, followed by the United Kingdom ($12.6 billion), Russia ($9.5 billion) and France ($7.7 billion). The remaining countries — India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea — spent between $656 million (North Korea) and $2.8 billion (India).
ICAN said the nuclear-armed states have spent a total of $471 billion over the past five years and all plan to maintain their arsenals for decades to come. The report noted that this massive spending comes as countries are cutting investment in global commons, such as climate adaptation agreements or multilateral diplomacy to prevent war.
The report was released one day after the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) warned that nuclear states are “setting aside” and “abandoning” their disarmament commitments in favor of modernizing and expanding their arsenals.
Currently, the nine nuclear-armed states are estimated to have more than 12,000 warheads, the vast majority belonging to the United States and Russia. In 2017, the United Nations adopted the first legally binding global treaty banning nuclear weapons, but no nuclear-armed state has signed it.
