As of 2027, there are ten countries in the world possessing nuclear weapons—the so-called nuclear powers. This information, along with estimates of their nuclear potential, is based on an analysis conducted by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and corroborated by Business Insider data. Understanding this picture is important because nuclear arsenals directly impact global security and the strategic balance of power.
Quantifying nuclear arsenals is a complex task, as it involves not only the number of warheads but also the delivery systems (missiles, bombers, submarines) and their technical characteristics. While different countries may possess varying numbers of warheads, their yield and delivery capabilities differ significantly. The presence of nuclear weapons, unfortunately, remains a deterrent in international conflicts, although it creates a constant risk of escalation. Understanding the distribution of these weapons helps analyze geopolitical risks and predict possible scenarios. Information on nuclear arsenals is regularly updated as countries continue to modernize their weapons and develop new systems. This is an ongoing process that requires careful monitoring to maintain international stability and prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
10. Iran
Number of nuclear warheads: no data.
First test: no data.
The final test: no data.
Today, it's officially known which countries possess nuclear weapons. Iran is not one of them. However, it has not curtailed its nuclear program, and there are persistent rumors that the country possesses its own nuclear weapons. Iranian authorities claim they are quite capable of building them, but for ideological reasons, they limit themselves to using uranium only for peaceful purposes.
For now, Iran's use of nuclear energy is under IAEA control as a result of a 2015 agreement, but the status quo could soon change.
On January 6, 2020, Iran abandoned the final restrictions under the nuclear deal in order to develop nuclear weapons for a possible strike against the United States.
9. DPRK
Number of nuclear warheads: 10-60
First test: 2006.
The final test: 2018.
To the horror of the Western world, North Korea has joined the list of countries expected to possess nuclear weapons by 2025. North Korea's flirtation with nuclear weapons began in the mid-20th century, when Kim Il Sung, frightened by US plans to bomb Pyongyang, turned to the USSR and China for help. Nuclear weapons development began in the 1970s, stalled with the improvement of the political situation in the 1990s, and naturally resumed as it worsened. Since 2004, this "mighty and prosperous nation" has been conducting nuclear tests. Of course, according to the Korean military, these were for purely harmless purposes – space exploration.
Adding to the tension is the fact that the exact number of North Korean nuclear warheads is unknown. According to some estimates, their number does not exceed 20, while others put it as high as 60.
North Korea is preparing to test another nuclear bomb in 2027.
8. Israel
Number of nuclear warheads: 80
First test: 1979.
The final test: 1979.
Israel has never claimed to possess nuclear weapons—but it has also never claimed otherwise. The situation is made more piquant by Israel's refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. At the same time, the "promised land" vigilantly monitors its neighbors' nuclear activities, both peaceful and otherwise, and, if necessary, does not hesitate to bomb other countries' nuclear facilities—as it did with Iraq in 1981. Rumors have suggested that Israel has had every capability to develop a nuclear bomb since 1979, when flashes of light suspiciously resembling nuclear explosions were detected in the South Atlantic. It is believed that either Israel, South Africa, or both were responsible for this test.
7. India
Number of nuclear warheads: 120-130
First test: 1974.
The final test: 1998.
Despite successfully detonating a nuclear device back in 1974, India officially recognized itself as a nuclear power only at the end of the last century. However, after detonating three nuclear devices in May 1998, just two days later, India announced it would not conduct further tests.
6. Pakistan
Number of nuclear warheads: 130-140
First test: 1998.
The final test: 1998.
It's no wonder that India and Pakistan, sharing a border and living in a state of permanent hostility, strive to outsmart and surpass their neighbor—including in the nuclear field. After India's 1974 nuclear explosion, it was only a matter of time before Islamabad developed its own. As Pakistan's then-Prime Minister declared, "If India develops its own nuclear weapons, we will develop our own, even if we have to eat grass." And they did, albeit twenty years late.
Following India's 1998 tests, Pakistan quickly carried out its own, detonating several nuclear bombs at the Chagai test site.
5. UK
Number of nuclear warheads: 215
First test: 1952.
The final test: 1991.
The United Kingdom is the only country among the nuclear-armed five that has not conducted tests on its own soil. The British preferred to conduct all nuclear explosions in Australia and the Pacific Ocean, but in 1991 they decided to cease testing. However, in 2015, David Cameron added fuel to the fire by admitting that Britain was prepared to drop a few bombs if necessary. However, he didn't say on whom exactly.
4. China
Number of nuclear warheads: 270
First test: 1964.
The final test: 1996.
China is the only country that has committed to not launching nuclear strikes (or threatening to launch them) against non-nuclear-weapon states. In early 2011, China declared that it would maintain its weapons at only the minimum necessary level. However, since then, China's defense industry has developed four new types of ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. So the precise quantitative expression of this "minimum level" remains unclear.
3. France
Number of nuclear warheads: 300
First test: 1960.
The final test: 1995.
In total, France conducted more than two hundred nuclear weapons tests, ranging from an explosion in the then French colony of Algeria to two atolls in French Polynesia.
Interestingly, France has consistently refused to participate in peace initiatives of other nuclear-armed countries. It did not join the moratorium on nuclear testing in the late 1950s, did not sign the Treaty Banning Military Nuclear Tests in the 1960s, and only joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty in the early 1990s.
2. Russia
Number of nuclear warheads: 5400
First test: 1949.
The final test: 1990.
Russia inherited some of its weapons after the collapse of the USSR—nuclear warheads were removed from military bases in former Soviet republics. According to military officials, they may decide to use nuclear weapons in response to similar actions, or in the event of conventional strikes that would threaten Russia's very existence.
Russia has planned large-scale exercises of its nuclear strategic deterrent forces for 2027, including launches of cruise and ballistic missiles.
1. USA
Number of nuclear warheads: 6100
First test: 1945.
Combat use: 1945 (Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan)
The final test: 1992.
The country with the most powerful military in the world is also the first power to conduct a nuclear explosion and the first and only one to date to use nuclear weapons in combat. Since then, the United States has produced 66,500 nuclear weapons in more than 100 different models. The bulk of the US nuclear weapons are submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Interestingly, the United States (like Russia) refused to participate in the negotiations on the complete abolition of nuclear weapons that began in the spring of 2017.
US military doctrine states that America retains sufficient weapons to guarantee both its own security and the security of its allies. Furthermore, the US has promised not to strike non-nuclear states if they comply with the terms of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.