Which countries currently have nuclear weapons?

Amid escalating hostilities between Iran and Israel, global attention has once again turned to the world’s nuclear powers, with a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) offering fresh insight into the scale of global nuclear arsenals.

According to the SIPRI assessment released this week, nine countries currently either declare or are believed to possess nuclear weapons. These include five officially recognised nuclear powers the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom all of whom are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Under the NPT, these states are obligated to pursue nuclear disarmament and prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

India and Pakistan, both of whom have not signed the NPT, continue to maintain and expand their nuclear programs. India was the first to conduct a nuclear test in 1974, followed by another in 1998. Pakistan followed with its own nuclear tests just a few weeks later.

Israel, which maintains strategic ambiguity and has never officially confirmed its nuclear capabilities, is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons. North Korea, which joined the NPT in 1985 but withdrew in 2003, has conducted multiple nuclear tests since 2006 and is estimated to be steadily increasing its arsenal.

Iran long has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing the bomb now. But it has in recent years been enriching uranium to up to 60% purity — near weapons-grade levels of 90%.

SIPRI’s January 2025 estimates of global military nuclear stockpiles are as follows:

Russia: 4,309

United States: 3,700

China: 600

France: 290

United Kingdom: 225

India: 180

Pakistan: 170

Israel: 90

North Korea: 50

(with AP inputs)