A Guide to the World’s
Nuclear Warheads
CountIntroduction

A Guide to the World’s
Nuclear Warheads
CountJune 2020

“The World’s Nuclear Warheads Count” is an easily
understood illustration of the current state of the world
we li ve in, s h owin g m ore t ha n 13,0 0 0 nu c l ear
warheads in the world by country and by type.
The PCU Nagasaki Council for Nuclear WeaponsAbolition (PCU-NC) and the Research Center for
Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University(RECNA) began producing this poster in 2013 as an
educational resource for all audiences, fromelementary school students to adults.
A s par t of t h e p eac e e d u c at i o n eﬀ or t s towar d
Hiroshima’s and Nagasaki’s Atomic Bomb Memorials
in August, we present annual updates on the latest
information every June.
We hope this guide will aid those using the poster inunderstanding background information andterminology in simple, plain terms. It should be
especially useful in the education ﬁeld, particularly inschools.
The detailed data of this poster, which was compiledby the “RECNA Nuclear Warhead Data Monitoring
Team,” including RECNA staﬀ, has been published on
our website:
https://www.recna.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/
recna/en-nwdata/list̲of̲nuclear
Please see the website for further details. This data is
updated from time to time.
June 2020
PCU Nagasaki Council for
Nuclear Weapons Abolition(PCU-NC)
Research Center for Nuclear WeaponsAbolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA)

Contact

PCU Nagasaki Council for
Nuclear Weapons Abolition (PCU-NC)
1-14, Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki, 852-8521
TEL: +81-95-819-2252 FAX: +81-95-819-2165

http://www.recna.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/recna/pcu

核兵器廃絶
長崎連絡協議会
PCU-Nagasaki Council

Frequently
Asked
Questions

Q1

What is the difference
between a nuclear warhead
and a nuclear weapon ?

A“warhead” is the part of a nuclear weapon that causes anexplosion. In general the combination of the warhead andthe missiles onto which it is loaded are referred to as a“nuclear weapon.”

Q2

What is the difference
between a nuclear weapon
and an atomic bomb ?

An atomic bomb (A-bomb) is a type of nuclear weapon. It
uses the energy released by the ﬁssion of a uranium orplutonium nucleus. In addition, there is a hydrogen bomb
(H-bomb), which uses the more powerful energy from thefusion of hydrogen nuclei.

Q3

What is the difference
between a nuclear weaponand other weapons?

Nuclear weapons generate explosive force of tens of
thousands to hundreds of thousands of times the power ofconventional bombs, and high temperatures that can evenmelt steel. Moreover, they result in many fatalities due totheir power radiation, and cause long-lasting physical andmental pain and suffering to those exposed to them. This is
why they are also referred to as “ weapons of mas sdestruction” and “inhumane weapons.”

Q4

Is nuclear testing still being
conducted?

Since 1945 over 2,000 nuclear tests have been conducted
over the world, causing massive damage to humans andthe environment. The latest nuclear test was conducted by
North Korea in September 2017. The Comprehensive Test
Ban Treaty (CTBT) that prohibits any kind of nuclear
explosion testing has still not come into effect even though
20 years have now elapsed since its establishment. TheU n i t e d S t a t e s a n d o t h e r n a t i o n s h ave c a r r i e d o u t“subcritical nuclear tests” that do not cause the nuclear
fission chain reactions that lead to nuclear explosions andare therefore not an infringement of the CTBT, earning thecriticism of the atomic -bombed cities as well as theinternational community.

Q5

North Korea s nuclear
weapons:
How advanced are they?

The nuclear force of the Democratic People's Republic ofKorea (North Korea) is continuing a trend of expansion. Thedetails of the nation’s nuclear plans are unclear but they
continue to produce the nuclear material required as theingredients of nuclear weapons, and they have repeatedly
tested a variety of missiles that could be mounted withnuclear weapons. Diplomatic efforts are underway with thefirst ever US-North Korea summit held in 2018, but therealization of the promised complete denuclearization of theKorean Peninsula is stagnating.

Q6

Does Iran possess nuclear
weapons?

Iran does not possess any nuclear weapons. However, since
it had been furtively proceeding with uranium enrichment
activities that could lead to the acquisition of nuclear weapons
the intentions of the nation’s nuclear development have been
under suspicion. In an attempt to arrive at a diplomatic
solution the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action wasconcluded in 2015 between Iran and the six major nations. In
return for complying with restrictions, inspections andmonitoring of its nuclear development capability, there was tobe a comprehensive lifting of economic sanctions on Iran.
However, the United States unilaterally withdrew from theagreement in 2018 and restarted its sanctions on Iran, which
in turn relaunched its enrichment program, and US-Iranrelations have deteriorated.

Q7

Will the Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear
Weapons lead to thenuclear weapons abolition?

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons(TPNW) adopted in 2017 is the treaty which prohibits
state parties from developing, testing, possessing, using,or threatening to use nuclear weapons. Of course, theestablishment of the TPNW does not automatically meanthat we will immediately achieve the goal of abolishing
nuclear weapons. Countries with nuclear weapons andthose under the “nuclear umbrella” are unlikely to join it,
at least for the time being. However, the adoption of theTPNW, which clearly brands nuclear weapons as illegal,
inhumane weapons will help to stigmatize such weapons.
Nuclear weapons are now immoral and illegitimate. It is
expected that this fact could exert further pressure on
those countries relying on nuclear deterrence to review
their policies, by inﬂuencing public opinion.

Q8

What does theabandonment of nuclear
weapons involve?

First of all the components of nuclear weapons are
dismantled but the problem is the nuclear material, whichcannot be easily disposed of. Subsequently, nuclear
material has to be managed and processed in a way thatwill make it impossible to ever use again for weapons.
Unfortunately the amount of nuclear material in the worldis continuing to increase.

Q9

What can Japan do?

In order to achieve a world free from nuclear weapons thecooperation not only of the nuclear powers but of allnations is essential. Ar ticle VI of the Treaty on theNon-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) obligates allnations to strive towards the realization of nuclear
disarmament. It is particularly vital that nations such as
Japan that are dependent on the nuclear umbrellachange their policies and aim for a security that does notrely on nuclear weapons. One aspect of striving for this is
to move towards the creation of a Northeast Asia Nuclear
Weapon-Free Zone.

1 The Total Number of Nuclear Warheads

in the World: Approx. 13,410

As of June 2020, the total number of nuclear warheads in the world isapproximately 13,410. Information about nuclear weapons is generally kept as astate secret, so countries do not usually publish detailed data about them. As
such, researchers and experts all of the world who are tackling this issue must
estimate the number, types, and operational status of the nuclear weapons
possessed by each country. This poster was created following careful examinationof information from various sources.

2

What is your impression of the number of nuclear warheads of “13,410”? At thepeak of the Cold War in 1987, the world had nearly 70,000 nuclear warheads. The
number of nuclear warheads has been signiﬁcantly reduced, but since the 2000s
the speed with which reductions are being made has been far from rapid.
As of last year (June 2019), the total number of nuclear warheads was 13,880; inother words, the world managed to dismantle 470 nuclear warheads over theprevious year. However, this is not a simple situation. The United States andRussia, despite reducing the total number of nuclear warheads they possess, arespending vast sums of money on the modernization of their nuclear weapons.
Moreover, they are pushing ahead with the development and deployment of
new-type of nuclear warheads and missiles not previously in their modernizationplans. China is the only party to the NPT whose number of nuclear warheads isactually increasing. India and Pakistan are pursuing the expansion of their nuclear
armaments, and it is thought that the danger of their use is high because of theunstable political circumstances surrounding them. North Korea too remains in astate in which no signs of a resolution are apparent.

43

2
12 The United States and Russia Own over

90% of the World’s Nuclear Warheads

3

The nine countries that possess nuclear warheads are the United States, Russia,France, the United Kingdom, China, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea.
Five of these countries (the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom,and China) are deﬁned by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as Nuclear
Weapon States, as they had been conducting nuclear testing at the time of NPT
negotiations. India, Pakistan, and Israel possess nuclear weapons outside of theNPT framework. North Korea declared its withdrawal from the NPT in 2003.

Nuclear Bombs in Germany and Italy

The numbers of nuclear weapons possessed by the United States and Russia arealmost equal, and between them amounts to around 91% of the world’s stockpile.
A number of nuclear weapons possessed by the two nations remain in a state of“high alert” in which they can still be ﬁred at any time within a matter of minutes,
and the danger of them being fired due to some accidental events has been
pointed out.

The United States deploys about 150 non-strategic nuclear warheads in ﬁve
NATO countries (Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey). This
deployment is a relic of the Cold War. Calls for removing these weapons havebeen growing within Europe, but they have yet to be realized.

4・5

The United States and Russia committed to reduce the number of deployedstrategic nuclear warheads held by each country to 1,550 or less under the New
START Treaty, which entered into force in February 2011. The reduction levels
envisaged by the treaty were achieved by both countries before the deadline inFebruary 2018. However, this falls far short of a substantial reduction in their
nuclear arsenals, since the United States only reduced its arsenal by a couple ofhundred rounds, while Russia had already achieved the goals under the treaty
when it entered into force.

4 “100 Seconds” Left toNuclear Annihilation?

Drawn on the image of the Earth in the center is the “Doomsday Clock.”
Continuously published since its ﬁrst publication in the Bulletin of the Atomic
Scientists in 1947, this countdown to midnight represents the countdown toannihilation of humankind by nuclear weapon use, symbolizing how close weare to a global crisis.

The Trump administration has publicly expressed the need to strengthen theUnited States’ nuclear deterrence to confront perceived threats posed by Chinaand Russia, and in tandem with modernizing its nuclear weapons it is making aneffort to develop and deploy more usable, new nuclear weapons. Coinciding withthis, the Trump administration has withdrawn from a series of vital agreements onarms control including the Iran nuclear deal and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear
Forces Treaty (INF). In response to these moves Russia is approaching thebolstering of its nuclear forces, and the backlash from China is becoming fiercer.
The status of US-Russian talks ahead of the extension of the new START Treaty
or a successor treaty are unclear. The bilateral and multilateral arms control
regimes are facing a considerable crisis.

As of January 2020, the Doomsday Clock was at 100 seconds before midnight.
The closest the world has ever been before to doomsday was in 1953, when
the countdown was two minutes to midnight, due to the success of hydrogenbomb tests by the Soviet Union. Against the background of the increasing risksof nuclear weapon use and modernization of the nuclear arsenals of nuclear
states, experts warn that the human civilization is facing a grave crisis.

Types of Delivery Vehicles and Nuclear Warheads

The types of delivery vehicles for nuclear warheads are divided into the following threecategories. Each icon represents ﬁve nuclear warheads.

Nuclear warheads deployedat sea; e.g.,Submarine-Launched1
Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs)
Nuclear warheads carried byaircraft; e.g., bombers

Nuclear warheads deployedon land; e.g., Intercontinental
Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) 2
All three of these categories contain nuclear
war h ead s t hat are ei t h er “ o p erat i o na ll yd e p l oye d s t r a t e g i c n u c l e a r wa r h e a d s ”,
“operationally deployed non-strategic nuclear
wa r h e a d s ”, o r “ r e s e r ve / n o n - d e p l oye dnuclear warheads”.
3

In addition the above, we have established a category for “retired and to-be-dismantled” warheads.
Although these nuclear warheads have been retired from militar y stockpiles and stored fordismantlement, this does not necessarily eliminate the possibility of their reuse.

1“Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM)”

Ballistic missiles capable of being launched from submarines.
2“Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM)”

Land-based ballistic missiles with a range of 5,500 km or more.
3“Reserve/non-deployed nuclear warheads”

Reserved warheads which are not operationally deployed, but are stored for possible future use.
4

“Operationally Deployed Nuclear Warheads”

Nuclear warheads which are deployed at a military unit and are capable of use.
5

“Strategic Nuclear Weapons”

Nuclear warheads to be mounted on nuclear weapons for the purpose of attacking enemy cities andmajor military installations. Non-strategic nuclear weapons, by contrast, have a more limited usage inbattleﬁeld situations. Non-strategic nuclear weapons include “tactical nuclear weapons” and “theater
nuclear weapons.”