List of states with nuclear weapons

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(Redirected from
Nuclear club
)

  States formerly possessing nuclear weapons (Kazakhstan, South Africa, Ukraine
)

Eight

United Kingdom, France, and China. Of these, the three NATO members, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France, are sometimes termed the P3.[2]

Other states that possess nuclear weapons are

nuclear tests
. North Korea had been a party to the NPT but withdrew in 2003.

Israel is also generally understood to have nuclear weapons,[3][4][5][6][7] but does not acknowledge it, maintaining a policy of deliberate ambiguity.[8] Israel is estimated to possess somewhere between 75 and 400 nuclear warheads.[9][10] One possible motivation for nuclear ambiguity is deterrence with minimum political friction.[11][12]

States that formerly possessed nuclear weapons are South Africa (developed nuclear weapons but then disassembled its arsenal before joining the NPT)[13] and the former Soviet republics of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, whose weapons were transferred to Russia.

According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the worldwide total inventory of nuclear weapons as of 2021 stood at 13,080. Around 30% of these are deployed with operational forces,[14] and more than 90% are owned by either Russia or the United States.[15][16]

In its recent research, SIPRI estimated the total number of nuclear warheads acquired by nuclear states reached 12,512 in January 2023. Approximately 9,576 are kept with military stockpiles. About 3,844 warheads are deployed with missiles. 2000 warheads, which are primarily from Russia and United States, are maintained for high operational alerts.[17]

Statistics and force configuration

Global nuclear stockpiles, January 2023

The following is a list of

nuclear reactors
.

From a high of 70,300 active weapons in 1986, as of 2024 there are approximately 3,750 active nuclear warheads and 13,890 total nuclear warheads in the world.[1] Many of the decommissioned weapons were simply stored or partially dismantled, not destroyed.[20]

It is also noteworthy that since the dawn of the Atomic Age, the delivery methods of most states with nuclear weapons have evolved—with some achieving 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
Warheads[a]
First test
NPT status[21]
CTBT status[22]
Delivery methods
Tests[23]
Total Deployed Date Site
United States[24] 5,244 1,770 16 July 1945 (Trinity) Alamogordo, New Mexico Party Signatory Nuclear triad[25] 1,030
Russian Federation[26] 5,580 1,710 29 August 1949 (RDS-1) Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR Party Signatory (ratified, but later revoked ratification)[27] 715
United Kingdom[1][28][4]
225 120 3 October 1952 (Hurricane) Monte Bello Islands, Australia Party Ratifier Sea-based[29][b] 45
France[1][28][30] 290 280 13 February 1960 (Gerboise Bleue) Reggane, French Algeria Party Ratifier Sea- and air-based[31][c] 210
China[1][28][4][32] 500
[33][34]
0
[28]
16 October 1964 (596) Lop Nur, Xinjiang Party Signatory Nuclear triad[35][36] 45
India[1][28][4][37] 164
[38][39]
0 18 May 1974 (Smiling Buddha) Pokhran, Rajasthan Non-party Non-signatory Nuclear triad[40][41][42][43] 3
Pakistan[1][4][44][39] 170 0 28 May 1998 (Chagai-1)
Ras Koh Hills, Balochistan
Non-party Non-signatory Nuclear triad[45][46] 2
North Korea[1][28][4][47] 30 0 9 October 2006[48] Kilju, North Hamgyong Announced withdrawal[49] Non-signatory Land- and sea- based [50] 6
Israel[1][4][51] 90
[1][4]
0 1960–1979[52][d] Unknown Non-party Signatory Suspected nuclear triad[54][55] Unknown

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

veto power
on UNSC resolutions.

United States