Which countries have nuclear weapons in 2025? Full list as US and Russia dominate arsenal amid Trump's strikes on Iran

Below is a breakdown of the nine countries known to possess nuclear weapons and their estimated stockpiles: according to data from Our World in Data.

Russia

• Total warheads: 5,459
• Deployed strategic: 1,710
• Deployed non-strategic plus reserve and retired stockpiles

United States

• Total warheads: 5,277
• Includes strategic, tactical, reserve, and retired stockpiles

China

• Estimated total: 600 warheads

France

• Estimated total: 290 warheads

United Kingdom

• Estimated total: 225 warheads

India

• Estimated total: 180 warheads

Pakistan

• Estimated total: 170 warheads

Israel

• Estimated total: 90 warheads

North Korea

• Estimated total: 50 warheads

During World War II, the US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed between 110,000 and 210,000 people . Stockpiles peaked during the Cold War at over 60,000 warheads around 1986. Since then, arsenals have declined but still remain above 10,000 globally.

The site adds some warheads are designed for strategic use away from the battlefield, such as against arms industries or infrastructure, while others are for nonstrategic, tactical use on the battlefield. And while some warheads are not deployed, or even retired and queued for dismantlement, a substantial share of them is deployed on ballistic missiles or bomber bases and can be used quickly.

However, many countries have abandoned efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. Only one country that had them - South Africa - entirely dismantled its arsenal.

In the late 1970s, more than a dozen countries considered them or pursued them by launching nuclear weapons programmes, but almost all stopped. Only Syria has considered nuclear weapons recently, and only Iran has pursued building them.

Tensions between the US, Israel, and Iran have escalated in recent weeks after Israeli officials accused Tehran of nearing nuclear weapons capability - a claim that Iran continues to deny, insisting that its atomic programme is purely for peaceful purposes.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump claimed responsibility for military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities, as Iran accused the US of launching a “dangerous war”.

In a post shared on his Truth Social platform at around 8pm ET on Saturday, Trump stated: “Very successful and important military strikes were carried out today against nuclear weapons development sites in Iran — Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. They have been obliterated by US warplanes. We will always act strongly and decisively in defence of America and its allies.”

The US attacks come despite the country, together with Russia, holding nearly 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). The organisation also noted that none of the nine nuclear-armed states have signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), a UN treaty aimed at banning all nuclear arms.

While the US retains operational control, American nuclear weapons are currently stationed in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Türkiye—deployments that continue to play a role in Washington’s nuclear war planning.

In 2023, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko confirmed that Russian tactical nuclear weapons had been deployed in Belarus.