For immediate release. Geneva, 13 May 2020.

Nuclear-armed states set record $73bn spending on nukes as pandemic spreads: new report 

$72.9 billion. That’s how much nine countries spent on nuclear weapons in 2019. In a just-released report, ICAN produced the first estimate in nearly a decade of global nuclear weapon spending, taking into account costs to maintain and build new nuclear weapons.

In its report "Enough is Enough: Global Nuclear Weapons Spending 2020" the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has produced the first estimate in nearly a decade of global nuclear weapon spending, taking into account costs to maintain and build new nuclear weapons. ICAN estimates that the nine nuclear-armed countries spent $72.9 billion on their 13,000+ nuclear weapons in 2019, equalling $138,699 every minute of 2019 on nuclear weapons, and a $7.1 billion increase from 2018. 

A review of current assistance programs for victims of nuclear weapons highlights that no single best practice exists and that much more work needs to be done to extend the benefits of these programs to all who have suffered.

In the last two weeks, 13 more countries have signed or ratified the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), bringing it closer to its entry into force. In the same period, several of the world’s nuclear weapon states engaged in shows of nuclear force, deliberate acts that contribute to a dangerous escalation in the nuclear arms race.