Countries’ Nuclear Arsenals from Largest to Smallest
Posted: 24 Feb 2023, 20:19
Russia (5,977 warheads)
United States (5,428)
China (350)
France (290)
United Kingdom (225)
Pakistan (165)
India (160)
Israel (90)
North Korea (20)
Tangent (U.S. versus Russia)
Russia has more total nuclear weapons than the U.S., but the Federation of American Scientists estimates they don’t have as many deployed, or ready to use. The U.S. has deployed 1,644 strategic, long-range weapons to target cities and military support structures and 100 tactical weapons designed for battlefield use. Russia has deployed 1,588 strategic missiles and no known tactical weapons as of 2022. In a hypothetical Russian nuclear attack against Ukraine, experts told Forbes that Russia would likely use tactical missiles to attack Ukrainian troops or command centers. The U.S. has more weapons earmarked for destruction (1,720) than Russia (1,500), but Russia has far more undeployed missiles (2,889) than the U.S. (1,964). It’s unclear what kinds of weapons make up that number.