Nuclear weapons hits record 91 billion of spending globally
Nuclear weapons hits record 91 billion of spending globally
Major powers in the world increased their spend on nuclear weapons by 13 percent compared to a year ago to $91.4 billion, mostly driven by USA, a report by lobby group International Campaign to Abolish nuclear weapons said on June 17.
The share of United States in total spending on nuclear weapons is $51.5 billion, more than all the other nuclear-armed countries put together, amounting to 80% of rise in nuclear weapons spend in 2023. The next biggest spender was China, at $11.8 billion with Russia being the third largest spender on nuclear weapons at $8.3 billion. The ICAN report said India spent $2.7 billion on nuclear weapons in 2023, a fifth of what China had spent, and despite its financial challenges, Pakistan ended up spending one billion dollar on nuclear weapons last year.
This uptick reflects efforts by countries such as the United States, China, and Russia to modernise and deploy advanced nuclear weaponry. These were highlighted by separate findings from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
“I think it is fair to say there is a nuclear arms race underway,” observed ICAN chief Melissa Parke, reflecting on the findings that paint a worrisome picture of global security dynamics.
In the last five years, $387 billion has been spent on nuclear weapons, the report said. Susy Snyder, a co-author of the report said that the nuclear nations are poised to spend $100 billion a year on nuclear weapons.
