List of states with nuclear weapons
There are currently nine sovereign states that are generally understood to possess nuclear weapons, though only eight formally acknowledge possessing them. In order of first successful nuclear test, the world's nine nuclear-armed states are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea ; Israel is believed to have acquired nuclear weapons around 1967, but has never openly tested or formally acknowledged having them. Under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China are recognized "nuclear-weapons states". They are also the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Israel, India, and Pakistan never signed the NPT, while North Korea acceded to it in 1985 before announcing withdrawal in 2003.
South Africa developed nuclear weapons by 1982 but dismantled them around 1989 and joined the NPT in 1991. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus had nuclear weapons deployed on their territories, but agreed to transfer them to Russia and join the NPT as non-nuclear-weapon states.
There are six states that do not possess nuclear weapons, but have nuclear weapons deployed on their territory. U.S. nuclear weapons are based in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey. Russian nuclear weapons are deployed in Belarus. During the Cold War, at least 23 states were known hosts of U.S., British, or Soviet nuclear weapons.
According to the Federation of American Scientists, there are 12,331 nuclear warheads in the world and approximately 3,904 of these are active, as of 2025. In 2024, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated that the total number of nuclear warheads had reached 12,121. Approximately 9,585 nuclear warheads are kept with military stockpiles. About 3,904 warheads are deployed with operational forces. 2,100 warheads, which are primarily from Russia and the United States, are maintained for high operational alerts.
Statistics and force configuration
The following is a list of states that have acknowledged the possession of nuclear weapons or are presumed to possess them, the approximate number of warheads under their control, and the year they tested their first weapon and their force configuration. This list is informally known in global politics as the "Nuclear Club". With the exception of Russia and the United States these figures are estimates, in some cases quite unreliable estimates. In particular, under the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty thousands of Russian and US nuclear warheads are inactive in stockpiles awaiting processing. The fissile material contained in the warheads can then be recycled for use in nuclear reactors.From a high of 70,300 active weapons in 1986, there are approximately 3,880 active nuclear warheads and 12,119 total nuclear warheads in the world. Many of the decommissioned weapons were simply stored or partially dismantled, not destroyed.
Additionally, since the dawn of the Atomic Age, the delivery methods of most states with nuclear weapons have evolved—with four acquiring a nuclear triad, while others have consolidated away from land and air deterrents to submarine-based forces.
Nuclear forces comparison
The table uses the following identifiers:- — This country has a nuclear mission assigned to this delivery system.
- — This country does not have a nuclear mission assigned to this delivery system.
- — It is unclear if this country has a nuclear mission assigned to this delivery system.
- — This country is developing this delivery system with a nuclear mission envisioned.
Recognized nuclear-weapon states
These five states are known to have detonated a nuclear explosive before 1 January 1967 and are thus nuclear weapons states under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. They also happen to be the UN Security Council's permanent members with veto power on UNSC resolutions.United States
The United States developed the first nuclear weapons during World War II in cooperation with the United Kingdom and Canada as part of the Manhattan Project, out of the apprehension that Nazi Germany would develop them first. It tested the first nuclear weapon on 16 July 1945 at 5:30 am, and remains the only country to have used nuclear weapons in war, having bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the closing stages of World War II. The project expenditure through 1 October 1945 was reportedly $1.845–$2billion, in nominal terms, roughly 0.8 percent of the US GDP in 1945 and equivalent to about $billion today.The United States was the first nation to develop the hydrogen bomb, testing an experimental prototype in 1952 and a deployable weapon in 1954. Throughout the Cold War it continued to modernize and enlarge its nuclear arsenal, but from 1992 on has been involved primarily in a program of stockpile stewardship. The US nuclear arsenal contained 31,175 warheads at its Cold War height. During the Cold War, the United States built more nuclear weapons than all other nations at approximately 70,000 warheads.
Russia (successor to the Soviet Union)
The Soviet Union tested its first nuclear weapon in 1949. This crash project was developed partially with information obtained via the atomic spies at the United States' Manhattan Project during and after World War II. The Soviet Union was the second nation to have developed and tested a nuclear weapon. It tested its first megaton-range hydrogen bomb in 1955. The Soviet Union also tested the most powerful explosive ever detonated by humans,, with a theoretical yield of 100 megatons, reduced to 50 when detonated. After its dissolution in 1991, the Soviet weapons entered officially into the possession of its successor state, the Russian Federation. The Soviet nuclear arsenal contained some 45,000 warheads at its peak, more than any other nation had possessed at any point in history; the Soviet Union built about 55,000 nuclear warheads since 1949.United Kingdom
The United Kingdom tested its first nuclear weapon in 1952. The UK had provided considerable impetus and initial research for the early conception of the atomic bomb, aided by Austrian, German and Polish physicists working at British universities who had either fled or decided not to return to Nazi Germany or Nazi-controlled territories. The UK collaborated closely with the United States and Canada during the Manhattan Project, but had to develop its own method for manufacturing and detonating a bomb as US secrecy grew after 1945. The United Kingdom was the third country in the world, after the United States and the Soviet Union, to develop and test a nuclear weapon. Its programme was motivated to have an independent deterrent against the Soviet Union, while also maintaining its status as a great power. It tested its first hydrogen bomb in 1957, making it the third country to do so after the United States and Soviet Union.The British Armed Forces maintained a fleet of V bomber strategic bombers and ballistic missile submarines equipped with nuclear weapons during the Cold War. The Royal Navy currently maintains a fleet of four ballistic missile submarines equipped with Trident II missiles. In 2016, the UK House of Commons voted to renew the British nuclear weapons system with the, without setting a date for the commencement of service of a replacement to the current system.
At the 2025 NATO summit, the UK announced it would purchase 12 US-made F-35A jets which are expected to carry US-made atomic bombs—expanding UK nuclear capability to include airborne delivery systems.
France
France tested its first nuclear weapon in 1960, based mostly on its own research. It was motivated by the Suez Crisis diplomatic tension in relation to both the Soviet Union and its allies, the United States and United Kingdom. It was also relevant to retain great power status, alongside the United Kingdom, during the post-colonial Cold War. France tested its first hydrogen bomb in 1968. After the Cold War, France has disarmed 175 warheads with the reduction and modernization of its arsenal that has now evolved to a dual system based on submarine-launched ballistic missiles and medium-range air-to-surface missiles. However, new nuclear weapons are in development and reformed nuclear squadrons were trained during Enduring Freedom operations in Afghanistan.France acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1992. In January 2006, President Jacques Chirac stated a terrorist act or the use of weapons of mass destruction against France would result in a nuclear counterattack. In February 2015, President François Hollande stressed the need for a nuclear deterrent in "a dangerous world". He also detailed the French deterrent as "fewer than 300" nuclear warheads, three sets of 16 submarine-launched ballistic missiles and 54 medium-range air-to-surface missiles and urged other states to show similar transparency.
China
China tested its first nuclear weapon device in 1964 at the Lop Nur test site. The weapon was developed as a deterrent against both the United States and the Soviet Union. Two years later, China had a fission bomb capable of being put onto a nuclear missile. It tested its first hydrogen bomb in 1967, 32 months after testing its first nuclear weapon. China is the only NPT nuclear-weapon state to give an unqualified negative security assurance with its "no first use" policy. China acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1992. As of 2016, China fielded SLBMs onboard its JL-2 submarines. As of February 2024, China had an estimated total inventory of approximately 500 warheads.According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China is in the middle of a significant modernization and expansion of its nuclear arsenal. Its nuclear stockpile is expected to continue growing over the coming decade and some projections suggest that it will deploy at least as many intercontinental ballistic missiles as either Russia or the US in that period. However, China's overall nuclear warhead stockpile is still expected to remain smaller than that of either of those states. The Yearbook published by SIPRI in 2024 revealed that China's nuclear warheads stockpile increased by 90 in 2023, reaching 500 warheads.
US Department of Defense officials estimate that the Chinese had more than 600 operational nuclear warheads as of December 2024, and it was on track to possess 1,000 nuclear weapons by the year 2030.