As of 2025, the following countries officially possess nuclear weapons, either through recognized status under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) or through undeclared but confirmed nuclear arsenals:
Official Nuclear-Weapon States (NPT-recognized)
These five countries are recognized under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as nuclear-weapon states:
- 🇺🇸 United States
- 🇷🇺 Russia
- 🇨🇳 China
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇫🇷 France
These states tested nuclear weapons before the NPT came into force in 1970.
⚠️ Nuclear-Armed States Outside the NPT
These countries are not signatories to the NPT but are known to possess nuclear weapons:
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇵🇰 Pakistan
- 🇮🇱 Israel (undeclared, but widely acknowledged)
Israel has a policy of deliberate ambiguity (“nuclear opacity”) and has not confirmed or denied having nuclear weapons, though evidence and international consensus strongly affirm it does.
🧪 Suspected or Aspiring Nuclear State
- 🇰🇵 North Korea
- Withdrew from the NPT in 2003
- Has conducted multiple nuclear tests since 2006
- Claims to have miniaturized warheads and ICBMs capable of reaching the U.S.
❌ Countries That Gave Up Nuclear Weapons
- 🇿🇦 South Africa: Dismantled its arsenal in the early 1990s.
- 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan, 🇺🇦 Ukraine, 🇧🇾 Belarus: Inherited nuclear weapons after the Soviet collapse but transferred them to Russia and joined the NPT as non-nuclear states.
- Only two nuclear bombs were used in wartime
- (via the U.S.)
- 1. Hiroshima (Japan) – August 6, 1945
Bombe : Little Boy
Approximately 140,000 dead- 2. Nagasaki (Japan) – August 9, 1945
- Bombe : Fat Man
- Approximately 70,000 dead
