Who has 90% of the world's nuclear weapons?
12/19/2025 05:19pm
The United States and Russia together possess approximately 90% of the world's total inventory of nuclear weapons.
1. **U.S. and Russian Nuclear Dominance**: The United States and Russia have a combined total of about 12,241 nuclear warheads as of the beginning of 2025, which is a significant portion of the global nuclear arsenal.
2. **Global Nuclear Distribution**: As of 2023, the world's nuclear-armed states, including the U.S., Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan, Israel, North Korea, and the United Kingdom, possess over 12,300 nuclear weapons.
3. **Nuclear Weapon Categories**: Within this total, strategic nuclear weapons, which are more powerful and designed for use deep inside an enemy’s territory, are held in comparable numbers by both the U.S. and Russia, with 1,718 for Moscow and 1,770 for Washington. In addition to these strategic weapons, both countries also maintain smaller numbers of non-strategic or tactical nuclear warheads, which are shorter-range and lower-yield but are not subject to treaty limits.
The concentration of nuclear weapons in the hands of these two superpowers underscores the critical nature of nuclear disarmament efforts and the need for continued arms control agreements to reduce the risk of nuclear conflict.