Which countries have nuclear weapons? (2024)

FAQs

Which countries have nuclear weapons? ›

Nine countries possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea. In total, the global nuclear stockpile is close to 13,000 weapons.

Nine countries - China, North Korea, France, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States - possess 12,100 nuclear warheads, of which 9,400 are in active military stockpiles.

Russia is the country with the most nuclear weapons in the world, with an arsenal of 5,977 nuclear weapons.

Russia has the most confirmed nuclear weapons, with over 5,500 nuclear warheads.

Canada has not officially maintained and possessed weapons of mass destruction since 1984 and, as of 1998, has signed treaties repudiating possession of them. Canada ratified the Geneva Protocol in 1930 and the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in 1970.

Combined, the United States and Russia now possess approximately 88 percent of the world's total inventory of nuclear weapons, and 84 percent of the stockpiled warheads available for use by the military.

The Tsar Bomba (Russian: Царь-бомба, romanized: Tsar'-bomba, IPA: [t͡sarʲ ˈbombə], lit. 'Tsar bomb'; code name: Ivan or Vanya), also known by the alphanumerical designation "AN602", was a thermonuclear aerial bomb, and the most powerful nuclear weapon ever created and tested.

At present, Russia maintains the highest number of nuclear weapons, with an estimated 6,257 total warheads.

Central Intelligence Agency, National Intelligence Estimate 11-2A-62, "Soviet Atomic Energy Program." May 16, 1962. Nuclear Weapon Archive, Big Ivan, The Tsar Bomba (“King of Bombs”)

In order of acquisition of nuclear weapons, these are the United States, Russia (the successor of the former Soviet Union), the United Kingdom, France, and China.

Does Mexico have nuclear weapons? ›

Mexico has no nuclear weapons, but it possesses the technical capability to manufacture nuclear weapons. However, it has renounced them and has pledged to only use its nuclear technology for peaceful purposes following the Treaty of Tlatelolco in 1967.

Since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan has been a staunch upholder of antinuclear sentiments. Its postwar Constitution forbids the establishment of offensive military forces, and in 1967 it adopted the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, ruling out the production, possession, or introduction of nuclear weapons.

Although Germany has the technical capability to produce weapons of mass destruction (WMD), since World War II it has refrained from producing those weapons. However, Germany participates in the NATO nuclear weapons sharing arrangements and trains for delivering United States nuclear weapons.

Nuclear weapons are still here—and they're still an existential risk. Nine countries possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea. In total, the global nuclear stockpile is close to 13,000 weapons.

The United States is the largest producer of nuclear power, while France has the largest share of electricity generated by nuclear power, at about 70%. Some countries operated nuclear reactors in the past but have no operating nuclear power plants at present.