NUCLEAR weapons spending has surged to a record high, according to research published today.

The report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) says global spending on nuclear weapons surged last year to an all-time peak of £119 billion.

The world’s nine known nuclear weapons countries spent an additional $16.8 billion (around £12.3bn) on their arsenals in 2025 compared with the previous year.

According to Ican, the United States spent more on its nuclear weapons last year than every other nuclear power combined. US nuclear spending is estimated to have been $69.2bn (about £51bn), representing a rise of $12.6bn (£9.2bn).

China spent an estimated $13.5bn (£9.9bn), while the figure for Britain was $12.6bn (£9.2bn), for Russia $9.5bn (£7bn) and for France $7.7bn (£5.6bn), Ican says.

India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea spent sums ranging from $656 million (£482m) to $2.8 billion (£2bn).

The true figures are likely to be higher, with some suspecting further undeclared nuclear powers may exist — some pointing to Saudi Arabia.

Ican says nuclear-armed states spent a combined $471bn (£346bn) over the past five years, with all of them planning to retain their arsenals for decades to come.

“This exorbitant spending comes at a time when countries are significantly scaling back their investments in the global commons,” Ican says in a summary accompanying the report.

“Whether reneging from climate change adaptation agreements or failing to pay their fair share to prevent the scourge of war through multilateral diplomacy, this overwhelming spending on nuclear weapons shows a willingness to research, develop, finance and build tools to exterminate humanity instead of save it.”

The day before the report’s publication, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute warned that nuclear states are “sidelining” and “walking away from” nuclear disarmament commitments in favour of modernising and enhancing their arsenals.

The nine known nuclear-armed states are estimated to possess more than 12,000 warheads between them, with the vast majority held by Russia and the US.

In 2017, the United Nations adopted the first legally binding global treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons.

Some 99 countries have signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which bars states from developing, testing, or acquiring weapons of mass destruction, but no nation with nuclear weapons has signed the treaty.