Countries With Nuclear Weapons: The Complete List

Nine countries possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China (the five recognized nuclear-weapon states under the Non-Proliferation Treaty), plus India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel. Russia and the United States together hold roughly 90% of all nuclear warheads on Earth.

Introduction

Since the United States detonated the first nuclear weapon in 1945, the number of nuclear-armed states has grown slowly to nine. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which entered into force in 1970, recognizes only five official nuclear-weapon states, but four other countries have since built arsenals outside that framework.

The global stockpile has fallen dramatically from a Cold War peak of around 70,000 warheads to roughly 12,000 today, yet the destructive potential remains enormous. This guide lists all nine nuclear-armed countries, their approximate arsenal sizes, and their status under the NPT.

The Five NPT Nuclear-Weapon States

Recognized Powers

• United States: The first nuclear power, since 1945, with an arsenal of roughly 5,000 warheads. It is a recognized nuclear-weapon state under the NPT and maintains a "nuclear triad" of land-based missiles, submarines, and bombers.
• Russia: Holds the world's largest arsenal, around 5,500 warheads, inherited and modernized from the Soviet program that began testing in 1949. Russia is an NPT nuclear-weapon state.
• United Kingdom: Became a nuclear power in 1952. It maintains a submarine-based deterrent of around 225 warheads and is an NPT-recognized state.
• France: First tested in 1960 and holds roughly 290 warheads deployed on submarines and aircraft. France is an NPT nuclear-weapon state.
• China: First tested in 1964 and is rapidly expanding its arsenal, now estimated at around 500 warheads and growing. China is the fifth NPT-recognized nuclear-weapon state.

These five states are also the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The NPT recognizes their arsenals while obligating them, in principle, to pursue eventual disarmament and to help non-nuclear states access peaceful nuclear technology.

The Four States Outside the NPT Framework

Later and Undeclared Powers

• India: Conducted its first nuclear test in 1974 ("Smiling Buddha") and openly declared weapons capability after 1998 tests. India has around 170 warheads and has never signed the NPT.
• Pakistan: Responded to India by testing in 1998 and now holds roughly 170 warheads. Like India, it is not a party to the NPT and its arsenal is closely tied to its rivalry with India.
• North Korea: The most recent state to acquire nuclear weapons, first testing in 2006. It is believed to have around 50 warheads. North Korea joined the NPT but withdrew in 2003 before developing its arsenal.
• Israel: Widely believed to possess around 90 warheads but has never officially confirmed or denied its arsenal, a policy known as nuclear ambiguity. Israel has not signed the NPT.

India, Pakistan, and Israel never joined the NPT, so they are not in violation of it, while North Korea is the only state to have joined and then withdrawn. These four arsenals sit outside the treaty's verification and accounting system.

How the Warheads Are Distributed

• Russia and the United States: Together hold about 90% of the world's roughly 12,000 warheads.
• China: The fastest-growing arsenal among the major powers.
• Mid-sized arsenals: France, the UK, India, Pakistan, and Israel each hold a few hundred or fewer.
• Smallest declared program: North Korea, with an estimated 50 warheads.

Several countries once had nuclear weapons or programs and gave them up. South Africa built and then dismantled a small arsenal in the early 1990s, and Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan returned Soviet-era weapons on their soil to Russia after the USSR collapsed. This makes South Africa the only nation to have fully developed weapons and then voluntarily eliminated them.

Questions and Answers

How many countries have nuclear weapons?

Nine countries are known to possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel. Israel has never officially confirmed its arsenal, but it is universally believed to have one.

Which country has the most nuclear weapons?

Russia has the largest arsenal, at around 5,500 warheads, closely followed by the United States with roughly 5,000. Together these two countries account for about 90% of all nuclear weapons in the world.

What is the NPT?

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, in force since 1970, aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. It recognizes only five nuclear-weapon states: the US, Russia, the UK, France, and China. India, Pakistan, and Israel never joined, and North Korea withdrew in 2003.