As of 2025, eight sovereign states have publicly announced successful detonation of nuclear weapons. Five of these are considered to be nuclear-weapon states (NWS) under the terms of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). In order of acquisition of nuclear weapons, these are the United States, Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), the United Kingdom, France, and China.
Other states that have declared nuclear weapons possession are India, Pakistan, and North Korea. These three states are not parties to the NPT. North Korea has previously been a party but withdrew in 2003. Israel is also generally understood to have nuclear weapons, but does not acknowledge it, maintaining a policy of deliberate ambiguity.
States that formerly possessed nuclear weapons are South Africa, who disassembled its arsenal before joining the NPT, and the former Soviet republics of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, whose weapons were transferred to Russia after the Soviet Union was formally dissolved in 1991.
In 2024, according to the Federation of American Scientists, there were approximately 3,880 active nuclear warheads and 12,119 total nuclear warheads in the world. This has decreased from a high of 70,300 active weapons estimated in 1986. Many of the decommissioned weapons were simply stored or partially dismantled, but not destroyed.
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”. With the exception of Russia and the United States (who have subjected their nuclear arsenals to independent verification) 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.
Since the dawn of the Atomic Age, the delivery methods of most states with nuclear weapons has evolved considerably. Four states have now acquired a nuclear triad. This is a military strategy that uses three types of weapon systems to deliver nuclear warheads – Land based missiles, Submarine-launched missiles, and Strategic bombers. The purpose of a nuclear triad is to deter an enemy from destroying all of a country’s nuclear weapons in a first strike. This allows the country to launch a second strike, which is known as mutually assured destruction (MAD). Other states such as the United Kingdom, have consolidated away from land and air deterrents in favour of submarine-based forces.
| Country | Warheads (total) | Warheads (deployed) | First Test | NPT Status | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 5,044 | 1,770 | 16 Jul 1945 | Member | 1,030 |
| Russian Federation | 5,580 | 1,710 | 29 Aug 1949 | Member | 715 |
| United Kingdom | 225 | 120 | 3 Oct 1952 | Member | 45 |
| France | 290 | 280 | 13 Feb 1960 | Member | 210 |
| China | 500 | 24 | 16 Oct 1964 | Member | 45 |
| India | 172 | 0 | 18 May 1974 | Non Member | 6 |
| Pakistan | 170 | 0 | 28 May 1998 | Non Member | 2 |
| Israel | 90 | 0 | 1960-1979 | Non Member | Unknown |
| North Korea | 50 | 0 | 9 Oct 2006 | Withdrawn | 6 |