Global: Nuclear weapons expenditures are rising for the third year in a row

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The campaign, which received the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, reported Monday in Geneva that the nine nuclear-weapon states are modernizing and expanding their arsenal. Total spending was $82.9 billion (approximately CHF 75 billion), three percent more than the year before. Overall, military spending was also higher than ever before, as the Stockholm peace research institute Sipri reported in April.

The campaign calculated that nearly $160,000 was spent on nuclear weapons every minute. The money could have provided nearly 1.3 billion people with clean drinking water and sanitation for a year.

According to the report, the United States invested more in the nuclear weapons sector than the other eight countries combined: a total of $43.7 billion. Behind the US would have been China ($11.7 billion) and Russia ($9.6 billion), followed by the UK, France, India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea. India has grown the most: plus 21.8 percent to $ 2.7 billion. About 90 percent of nuclear warheads belong to the US and Russia.

ICAN brings together non-governmental organizations from around the world advocating for the abolition of nuclear weapons. An accompanying treaty has been in force since 2021 and has been adopted by most UN states. However, neither the nine nuclear-weapon states nor their allies have joined, including other NATO states.

(SDA)

Source: Blick