Global Nuclear Weapons Inventory: Good and Bad News for Peace

(14 June 2021) According to the latest report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), due to the USA and Russia dismantling retired warheads, the global nuclear warheads inventory decreased by 320 units between Jan. 1, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2021, continuing an overall decline in global stock. And this is a good news.

The bad news is that at the beginning of 2021 the number of deployed warheads (warheads placed on missiles or located on bases with operational forces) increased for the first time since 2017.  Over the course of the last year the US and Russia increased the number of deployed warheads by 50 and 55 units, respectively.

In addition, other nuclear powers, led by China, have continued to increase their nuclear arsenals even as the US and Russia reduce theirs. Collectively, China, the UK, North Korea, India, and Pakistan increased their inventory of nuclear warheads by 61 units from the start of 2020 to the start of 2021. The other two countries that possess nuclear weapons, France and Israel, maintained previous inventory levels. With 350 warheads, China now ranks third among nuclear powers, having surpassed France in 2020.

Note:  The data on this page represents all countries that have nuclear weapons.