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 (1945), Russia (1949), the United Kingdom (1952), France (1960), China (1964), India (1974), Pakistan (1998), and North Korea (2006); 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 (NPT), the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China are recognized "nuclear-weapons states" (NWS). 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.Arms Control and Global Security, Paul R. Viotti – 2010, p. 312. 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 (which inherited the Soviet Union's international rights and obligations) 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 (FAS), there are 12,187 nuclear warheads in the world and approximately 3,912 of these are active, . In 2024, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) 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"."Nuclear club", Oxford English Dictionary: "nuclear club n. the nations that possess nuclear weapons." The term's first cited usage is from 1957.Jane Onyanga-Omara, "The Nuclear Club: Who are the 9 members?" , USA TODAY, 6 January 2016. With the exception of Russia and the United States (which have subjected their nuclear forces to independent verification under various treaties) 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 3,912 active nuclear warheads and 12,187 total nuclear warheads in the world. Many of the decommissioned weapons were simply stored or partially dismantled, not destroyed.Webster, Paul (July/August 2003). "Nuclear weapons: how many are there in 2009 and who has them? " The Guardian, 6 September 2009.
Additionally, since the dawn of the Atomic Age, the delivery methods of most states with nuclear weapons have evolved—with five acquiring a nuclear triad, while others have consolidated away from land and air deterrents to submarine-based forces.
+Overview of nuclear states and their capacities Country First testThermo-nuclear power? Delivery method Total Deployed Date SiteSeaAirLandNotes United States 3,700 1,670 16 July 1945 (Trinity) Alamogordo, New Mexico PartySignatory US triadIISS 2012, pp. 54–55. 1,030 Russian Federation 4,400 1,796 29 August 1949 (RDS-1) Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR PartySignatory (ratified, but later revoked ratification) Russian triad715 225 120 3 October 1952 (Hurricane) Monte Bello Islands, Australia PartyRatifier Trident submarinesIISS 2012, p. 169. 45 France 290 280 13 February 1960 (Gerboise Bleue) Reggane, French Algeria PartyRatifier Triomphant submarines, air capabilityIISS 2012, p. 111. 210 China 620 34 16 October 1964 (596) Lop Nur, Xinjiang PartySignatory Chinese triadThe Long Shadow: Nuclear Weapons and Security in 21st Century Asia by Muthiah Alagappa (NUS Press, 2009), page 169: "China has developed strategic nuclear forces made up of land-based missiles, submarine-launched missiles, and bombers. Within this triad, China has also developed weapons of different ranges, capabilities, and survivability."IISS 2012, pp. 223–224. 45 India 190 12 18 May 1974 (Smiling Buddha) Pokhran, Rajasthan Non-partyNon-signatory Indian triadIISS 2012, p. 243. 6 Pakistan 170 0 28 May 1998 (Chagai-1) Ras Koh Hills, Balochistan Non-partyNon-signatory Pakistani triad 2 Israel 900 1960–1979Farr, Warner D. (September 1999), The Third Temple's holy of holies: Israel's nuclear weapons, The Counterproliferation Papers, Future Warfare Series 2, USAF Counterproliferation Center, Air War College, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, retrieved 2 July 2006.Unknown Non-party Signatory Suspected Israeli triadAn Atlas of Middle Eastern Affairs By Ewan W. Anderson, Liam D. Anderson, (Routledge 2013), page 233: "In terms of delivery systems, there is strong evidence that Israel now possesses all three elements of the nuclear triad."IISS 2012, p. 328. 1? (unconfirmed) North Korea 600 9 October 2006 Kilju, North Hamgyong Announced withdrawalNon-signatory North Korean delivery systemsCSIS 2022 6
Nuclear forces comparison
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 (UNSC) 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 ("Trinity") 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 ("Ivy Mike") and a deployable weapon in 1954 ("Castle Bravo"). 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.Stephen I. Schwartz, ed., Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940 (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 1998). The US nuclear arsenal contained 31,175 warheads at its Cold War height (in 1966). 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 ("RDS-1") 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 ("RDS-37") in 1955. The Soviet Union also tested the most powerful explosive ever detonated by humans, ("Tsar Bomba"), 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 (in 1986), 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 ("Hurricane") 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 (Operation Grapple), 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 (SSBNs) 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 ("Gerboise Bleue"), 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 (see: Force de frappe). France tested its first hydrogen bomb in 1968 ("Opération Canopus"). 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 (SLBMs) and medium-range air-to-surface missiles (Rafale fighter-bombers). 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.Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons , United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. 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.France 'would use nuclear arms' (BBC, January 2006). 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.