Nuclear powers are modernising their arsenals in response to rising global tensions, leading to a one-third increase in spending over the past five years, according to two reports released on Monday.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) revealed that the nine nuclear states (United States, United Kingdom, Russia, China, France, India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea) collectively spent $91 billion (equivalent to €85 billion) last year.
Another report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) corroborated this data, highlighting that these countries have significantly increased their expenditure whilst updating and deploying new nuclear weapons.
"I believe it is fair to say that a nuclear arms race is underway," ICAN Director Melissa Parke told AFP.
The ICAN noted that global nuclear armament spending has risen by $10.8 billion in 2023 from the previous year, with the US accounting for 80% of this increase.
The US' share of total expenditure stands at $51.5 billion, followed by China ($11.8 billion) and Russia ($8.3 billion). The UK, meanwhile, has significantly increased its spending for the second consecutive year, totalling $8.1 billion, marking a 17% increase.
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Nuclear powers collectively spent $2,898 per second last year on these weapons, according to the report.
Parke condemned this as an "unacceptable use of public funds," labelling the amounts spent as "obscene".
She emphasised that these funds exceed what the World Food Programme estimates as necessary to end world hunger. "And a million trees could be planted for each minute of spending on nuclear weapons."
