US Spent $98,000 Per Minute on Nuclear Weapons in 2023, New Report Says

[Ellen Thomas]

US Spent $98,000 Per Minute on Nuclear Weapons in 2023, New Report Says

Despite public opposition, corporations are driving a nuclear spending race that makes us all less safe.

By  Jon Letman, Truthout

Published June 17, 2024

https://truthout.org/articles/us-spent-98000-per-minute-on-nuclear-weapons-in-2023-new-report-says/

People stand behind a banner reading "Divest New York Nukes" during an outdoor demonstration in New York City, on August 1, 2020.  -

Erik McGregor / LightRocket via Getty Images

As raging wars in Gaza and Ukraine and sharpening geopolitical tensions fuel instability and uncertainty, global spending on nuclear weapons surged by more than 13 percent to $91.4 billion in 2023, according to a newly published report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

According to the report, last year the world’s nine nuclear-armed nations all increased spending on their arsenals at a rate equivalent to $250 million per day. The largest rise in nuclear spending was by the United States, with a nearly 18 percent increase over 2022 to $51.5 billion — the equivalent of nearly $98,000 per minute — more than the other eight countries combined.

As the U.S. continues to modernize all three legs of its nuclear triad (bombers, submarines and intercontinental ballistic missiles), in 2023, it spent more than four times the amount spent by China, the second-highest-ranked nuclear nation.

By comparison, China increased its spending on nuclear weapons 6.7 percent to $11.9 billion, followed by Russia at $8.3 billion, the third-highest spender. Both the U.S. and Russia have a total inventory of more than 5,000 nuclear weapons. With 500 of its own nuclear weapons, China remains a distant third, but analysts say it is “significantly expanding” the size of its arsenal.

France and the United Kingdom increased nuclear spending to $6.1 billion and $8.1 billion respectively, and while France’s nuclear budget swelled by 5.7 percent, U.K. nuclear spending grew by 17.1 percent, three times more than France.

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