Finding
Countries in the Global South have made the biggest improvements to their nuclear security conditions, though there is still significant work to be done.
Data Highlights
- Since 2020, countries without weapons-usable nuclear materials in the Global South improved their median overall score by 3.5 points. This is the second-largest score increase among countries and areas without weapons-usable nuclear materials that the NTI Index has ever shown, and the largest since the conclusion of the Nuclear Security Summit process in 2018. (See Figure 8b.)
- The increase in the median overall score of Global South countries can be traced to notable movement on three indicators: 10 Global South countries ratified the amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM), increasing International Legal Commitments scores, and 39 made significant improvements to their implementation of UNSCR 1540, increasing UNSCR 1540 Implementation scores. Another 27 Global South countries improved their scores under the Voluntary Commitments indicator by providing or receiving bilateral or multilateral assistance related to nuclear security.
- African countries are leading the way; of the 10 countries without weapons-usable nuclear materials that most improved their overall score, 5 are located on the continent: Angola, Chad, Eritrea, Madagascar, and Malawi. All 6 improved their overall score by at least 10 points. (See Figure 8c.)
- Global South countries without weapons-usable nuclear materials have significantly lower overall scores than Global North countries with weapons-usable materials. Among countries and areas without weapons-usable nuclear materials, those in the Global South have a median overall score of 49 out of a possible 100, whereas those in the Global North have a median score of 74—25 points higher. (See Figure 8a.)
