World Nuclear Weapon Arsenals

The World Nuclear Weapon Arsenals

Five nations, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China are nuclear weapon states according to the defmition in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (countries that tested a nuclear explosive device before 1 January 1967). All five possess all technologies needed to build modem compact nuclear weapons and all have produced both high-enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium. Israel belong to undeclared nuclear nation.
India detonated a nuclear device using plutonium implosion in 1974. India has held no announced tests since then, although they have on occasion taken steps which would imply that a test is imminent. India does not enrich uranium. It has heavy-water moderated reactors, not all under international safeguards.
Pakistan has an operating uranium enrichment plant. Senior Pakistani officials have alluded to possession of a small nuclear stockpile.
South Africa constructed six simple gun-assembled uranium bombs but dismantled them and signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-weapons state. The HEU for these bombs was obtained from an aerodynamic isotope separation technique developed indigenously. South Africa has shut down its aerodynamic enrichment facilities, but is developing a molecular LIS (MLIS) process for producing LEU for commercial nuclear power reactors.
Israel is believed by some to possess nuclear weapons. It operates one unsafeguarded nuclear reactor at Dimona and presumably is capable of reprocessing spent fuel to extract plutonium. It is a technically advanced state and probably has all of the electronics needed to build and test nuclear weapons. Its elite air force may be nuclear trained.
Iraq had a flourishing nuclear weapons and civilian nuclear program until the 1991 Gulf War. It was able to enrich uranium using EMIS and was pursuing centrifuge enrichment as well. It anticipated constructing implosion weapons using HEU as the fuel.
Iran has many components of a nuclear weapons program in place and has been attempting to purchase turnkey nuclear reactors on the world market.
North Korea built and operated CO2-cooled, graphite-moderated reactors and had built and operated a reprocessing facility before agreeing to allow the United States and South Korea to replace its gas-graphite "power" reactor with a light-water moderated unit less suited to the production of weapons-grade plutonium. The amount of plutonium it currently has in hand outside of that contained in its spent fuel storage facility is not well known by outsiders. The amount of plutonium it currently has in hand outside of that contained in its spent fuel storage facility is not well known by outsiders.
Sweden came very close to building nuclear weapons in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Many experts judge its weapon designs as sophisticated and efficient; the country has the industrial base to "go nuclear" in a short period and has adequate amounts of plutonium contained in stored spent reactor fuel.
Switzerland had a nuclear weapons program until the early 1970's. Both Sweden and Switzerland are highly industrialized Western nations with broad access to a full spectrum of modem technology, whether developed indigenously or imported. Both operate nuclear reactors and could assemble a nuclear weapons program in a short time.
Germany has developed an indigenous uranium enrichment process (not believed to be currently in use) and has adequate stocks of spent fuel from which to prepare nuclear weapons.
Japan is as far advanced as Germany and also operates a reprocessing plant. Japan considered developing its own nuclear arsenal in 1995 to counter the threat of a nuclear-armed North Korea but rejected the idea because it might deprive Tokyo of U.S. military protection and alarm Asian countries. It was the second time since the end of World War II that Japan had looked into the possibility of starting its own research on nuclear weapons. Tokyo rejected a similar plan in a 1967-1970 study. As the only country ever attacked with nuclear weapons, Japan has vowed never to possess its own nuclear bombs. But the report showed that government officials haven't entirely ruled out the possibility. Running its own nuclear program would have forced Japan to start from scratch, building new facilities and buying equipment - a step that would have led to exorbitant defense spendings. Nevertheless nation could construct nuclear weapons in a short period of time.
Many other states have capabilities in some or all of the relevant technologies and could assemble a nuclear weapons in a short time.

Summary of The World Nuclear Weapons Arsenals (Data adopted here)

Country	Suspected Strategic Nuclear Weapons	Suspected Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons	Suspected Total Nuclear Weapons
United States	8,646	2,010	10,656
Russia	~ 6,000	~ 4,000	~10,000
France	350	0	350
China	250	120	400
United Kingdom	180	5	185
Israel	100-200	?	200+?
India	60	?	60+?
Pakistan	24-48	?	24-48