Nuclear-armed states spent record 119 billion dollars on arsenals in 2025, up 19% YoY
Taxpayers in nuclear-armed states funded a record year for the bomb. The nine nuclear powers spent about $119 billion on their arsenals in 2025, up 19% in a year, per ICAN. The US alone spent $69.2 billion, more than every rival combined. ICAN ties the rise to modernization progr
Anyone who pays taxes in a nuclear-armed country helped fund a record year for the bomb. The nine states that possess nuclear weapons spent just under $119 billion on their arsenals in 2025, a 19% increase over the previous year and the steepest single-year rise tracked by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). The United States accounted for the bulk of it, spending an estimated $69.2 billion, more than every other nuclear power combined. China followed at $13.5 billion, with the United Kingdom at $12.6 billion, enough to push it past Russia, which spent $9.5 billion. France rounded out the larger spenders at $7.7 billion, while India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea spent smaller sums. The money is not going toward stockpiling alone. ICAN found that spending is increasingly tied to modernization: new missiles, bombers, submarines, warheads and the infrastructure to support them. Moving warheads from storage onto delivery systems deepens the role of nuclear weapons in defense planning. Over the past five years, the nine states have committed more than $471 billion to their arsenals, and each plans to keep its weapons for decades. ICAN frames the figures as evidence that the world may be sliding into a new era of nuclear arms competition rather than disarmament. Reported by Al Jazeera and the Manila Times.