What countries have nuclear weapons? In our world today, there are nine major countries that currently possess nuclear weapons. Here is the list of the nine states with nuclear warheads in descending order, starting with the country that has the most nuclear weapons at hand and ending with the country that has the least number of nuclear weapons:
- Russia, 6,370 nuclear warheads including 2,000 retired and awaiting dismantling and 4,310 stockpiled
- United States, 5,800 total warheads, including 2000 retired and awaiting dismantling and 3,800 stockpiled
- China, 320 nuclear warheads, all stockpiled
- France, 290 nuclear warheads, some stockpiled
- The United Kingdom, 195 nuclear warheads, about half stockpiled
- Pakistan, 160 nuclear warheads
- India, 150 nuclear warheads
- Israel, 90 nuclear warheads
- North Korea, 35 nuclear warheads
(Note: Getting accurate numbers for nuclear weapons is difficult. Numbers obtained came from the Federation of Atomic Scientists as of April 2020, https://fas.org/issues/nuclear-weapons/status-world-nuclear-forces/.)
