The era of nuclear disarmament is coming to an end, but new technologies will increase the risk of nuclear conflict, Sipri warned on Monday.
The Stockholm International Peace Institute (SIPRI) emphasized its annual assessment of military, disarmament and international security status, but the number of nuclear warheads around the world has continued to decline last year as the US and Russia dismantle retired warheads, but the pace of such dismantling has slowed.
As nuclear states pursue modernization programs, the speed at which new warheads enter global stockpile could soon surpass demolition. Sipri said.
“The era of reducing the number of nuclear weapons worldwide that has continued since the end of the Cold War is coming to an end,” Hans M. Kristensen, senior associate fellow at Sipri’s weapons programme, said in a statement.
“Instead, we see a clear trend in cultivating nuclear weapons, sharpening nuclear rhetoric and abandoning the weapons control agreement,” he added.
Nine countries – the United States, Russia, the UK, France, China, China, India, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of South Korea (North Korea), Israel has nuclear warheads in global stocks estimated to be military stockpiled for 12,241 warheads, with an estimated global stockpile of 9,614 potentially used.
Just over 2,000 of the deployed warheads kept almost everyone in the US and Russia in operational alerts with high ballistic missiles.
Both countries faced challenges with their modernization programme last year, but Sipri predicts that nuclear weapons will increase over the next few years.
China’s nuclear weapons, which currently count at least 600 warheads, have grown faster than any other country since 2023 than about 100 new warheads a year. Sipri estimates that China can potentially have many intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that are similar to either Russia or the US.
The Institute for International Security has also flagged 2024 that it attracted new attention to nuclear sharing arrangements. These included the claims that Russia and Belarus had deployed nuclear weapons in Belarus territory, a European NATO alliance that expressed their willingness to host US nuclear weapons in the soil, and a statement by French President Emmanuel Macron that the country’s nuclear deterrent could have “European dimensions.”
“It’s important to remember that nuclear weapons do not guarantee security,” says Matt Korda, senior researcher at Sipri’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Program.
“Nuclear weapons do not prevent conflict as recent hostilities in India and Pakistan are well-proven. They also carry the immense risk of escalation and catastrophic miscalculation, particularly when disinformation is present, which will keep the country’s population safer.”
Meanwhile, the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies increases the risk of nuclear conflicts erupting as a result of misunderstandings, misunderstandings, or technical accidents.
Annual report looking at the overall armed figure shows that for the 10th consecutive year in 2024, global military spending has increased to $2.7 trillion (2.3 trillion euros), driven by Russia’s continued full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
However, Washington is the world’s largest military man, spending $997 billion (861 billion euros) in 2024, receiving more than triple the spending spent by China, the next biggest Spender. Total European spending increased by 17%, with all countries Bamarta boosting military spending.
Just five countries, the US, France, Russia, China and Germany, accounted for 71% of all US military exports, increasing their share to 43% from 35% at the turn of the decade.
Together, Ukraine, India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan accounted for 35% of total arms imports.
