(Geneva/Oslo) The latest international statistics show that the world's nine nuclear-armed nations spent a record amount on their nuclear arsenals last year, reaching nearly US$119 billion (approximately S$152.9 billion). This represents an increase of nearly US$17 billion, or 20%, compared to the previous year. The United States' spending exceeded the combined spending of all other nations.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organizations advocating for the elimination of nuclear weapons, released its latest annual report on Tuesday (June 9). The report warns that a new nuclear arms race is emerging amid escalating geopolitical tensions, with countries planning to continue increasing their investments in the coming decades.
ICAN’s director of nuclear disarmament, Snyder, said the growing nuclear arsenal, coupled with the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) to increase the risk of using nuclear weapons, is a deeply worrying trend.
Currently, the nine countries possessing nuclear weapons are the United Kingdom, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States. The report indicates that all of these countries have increased their nuclear weapons spending by 2025.
The report indicates that the United States spent more on nuclear weapons last year than all other countries combined, reaching $69.2 billion, an increase of $12.4 billion from the previous year. China was second, with an estimated expenditure of $13.5 billion last year; followed by the United Kingdom at $12.6 billion, and Russia at $9.5 billion.
ICAN points out that these nine nuclear-armed states have spent more than $470 billion on their nuclear arsenals over the past five years; this spending is expected to continue to grow in the future.
Snyder believes that such massive nuclear weapons spending is even more alarming at a time when the global humanitarian system is facing a severe blow from funding cuts. She said, "These countries' spending on nuclear weapons in 2025 is equivalent to 32 years of the UN's operating budget."
Snyder further pointed out that the daily expenditure on nuclear weapons last year was enough to buy food to help more than 2 million people.
The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) in Norway also released a report on the same day, indicating that there were as many as 65 conflicts involving at least one country globally last year, the highest number since World War II. Africa remains the region most affected by conflict, with 29 conflicts, followed by Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, and Europe.
According to this annual "Conflict Trends" report, the number of interstate conflicts has risen to an 80-year high of eight, double the number from the previous year. These include border conflicts between India and Pakistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Cambodia and Thailand. Also included are the war between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel's military operation in Syria.
According to reports, last year was the third deadliest year since the end of the Cold War, with approximately 245,000 people dying in combat or political violence. Of these, about 76,500 died in attacks against civilians, far more than the 14,200 who died in 2024.
PRIO researcher Rustad pointed out that in the past five or six years, there have been several large-scale conflicts around the world simultaneously, leaving the world with no chance to catch its breath. "The continuous high-intensity conflicts on a global scale are very different from the past."
She also named Israel as "clearly one of the most aggressive countries in the world right now" because it is involved in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and other conflicts, as well as various conflicts against the Houthis.
Rustad also said that since US President Trump returned to power, "not only has he brought attacks and more violence, but he has also erected trade barriers."
She pointed out: "We are stifling cooperation. The UN Security Council is currently doing nothing. We are facing an increasingly polarized world."
Source: [Lianhe Zaobao] (https://www.zaobao.com/news/world/story20260609-9178953)