07. World Nuclear Weapons Stockpile

07. World Nuclear Stockpile Report

What countries are members of the “nuclear club, that is, who has the capability, or near capability (a “screw’s turn away”) of using a nuclear arsenal? It may be in a country’s interest to reveal that it has an arsenal, or to let the assumption live that it has nuclear weapons. Members of the “club” certainly are taken seriously in the community of nations. It is not, however, in a country’s interest to disclose how many weapons compose its arsenal.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, The “Nuclear Notebook” in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and the nuclear appendix in the SIPRI Yearbook, all make highly informed efforts to determine what countries are members of the club and what constitute the stockpiles of the members.

While exact numbers are not known, it is clear that the combined stockpile of nuclear weapons is still vast overkill. Best estimates put the total number of warheads at about 23,300. Of these weapons more than 8,190 warheads are considered operational, of which approximately 2,200 U.S. and Russian warheads are on high alert, ready for use on short notice.

These estimates are compiled and maintained by Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists and Robert Norris of the Natural Resources Defense Council (both with support from Ploughshares Fund) and are based on publicly available information and occasional leaks. As of 2010 the status of World Nuclear Forces are as follows.
States who have carried out verified nuclear tests.

Known Members of the Nuclear Club
Country Strategic Non-Strategic Total Operational Total

Russia 2,600 2,050 4,650 12,000
United States 1,968 500 2,468 9,600
France 300 n.a. ~300 300
China 180 ? ~180 240
United Kingdom 160 n.a. <160 185



Probable Members of the Nuclear Club (2010)

Country Strategic Non-Strategic Total Operational Total

Israel 80 n.a. n.a. 80 Pakistan 70-90 n.a. n.a. 70-90
India 60-80 n.a. n.a. 60-80
North Korea <10 n.a. n.a. <104

TOTALS 5,600 2,550 7,900 22,500

Despite two North Korean nuclear tests, there is no publicly available evidence that North Korea has operationalized its nuclear weapons capability. A 2009 world survey by the U.S. Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) does not credit any of North Korea's ballistic missiles with nuclear capability.

All numbers are estimates and are further described in the Nuclear Notebook in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and the nuclear appendix in the SIPRI Yearbook. (The "Full Reports" referenced in the table above are the most recent country-specific analyses published in the Bulletin.) Unlike those publications, this table is updated continuously as new information becomes available. Additional reports are published on the FAS Strategic Security Blog, where this information originally appeared.