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Top 9 nuclear-armed countries in 2025: Where do India and Pakistan rank?

Top 9 countries that own the world’s most nuclear weapons in 2025: Notably, the United States and Russia, collectively hold about 88% of the world's total nuclear arsenal and 84% of the warheads that are readily available for military use.

Global Nuclear Powers 2025: Know which are the the top 9 countries which presently own the world’s most nuclear weapons as of early 2025. (Source Canva)

Top 9 countries that own the world’s most nuclear weapons (2025): The world today is precariously standing at the brink of nuclear weapons proliferation, primarily due to unprecedented insecurity and rising geopolitical tensions.

Although it seems that significant progress has been made to limit nuclear arsenals since the Cold War, the pace of reduction has considerably slowed down, leaving the global stockpile of nuclear warheads at alarmingly high levels.

Notably, the ‘two superpowers’ from the Cold War period, the United States and Russia, collectively hold about 88% of the world’s total nuclear arsenal and 84% of the warheads that are readily available for military use.

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Since the Cold War, global nuclear arsenals have declined from a high of around 70,300 warheads in 1986 to an estimated 12,331 by the start of 2025. (Credit and Source: Federation of American Scientists)

However, presently, both nations are taking gradual steps to diminish their stockpiles through the dismantling of decommissioned warheads; several other countries—such as China, India, and Pakistan—are reportedly expanding their nuclear inventories.

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Presently, no other nuclear-armed state sees a need for more than a few hundred nuclear weapons for national security; however, notably, the top nine nuclear-armed nations collectively possess around 12,331 warheads as of early 2025, according to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) study.

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Top 9 nuclear-armed countries in the world, as of early 2025:

Rank	Country	Total Nuclear Warheads
1	Russia	5,449
2	United States	5,277
3	China	600
4	France	290
5	United Kingdom	225
6	India	180
7	Pakistan	170
8	Israel	90
9	North Korea	50
Total		12,331

Source: Status of World Nuclear Forces 2025, Federation of American Scientists

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Cherry Gupta

Cherry Gupta is an Assistant Manager – Content at The Indian Express. She leads the Top 10 section, curating list-based features on key national and international developments, and manages daily news content. She also produces SEO-driven articles and collaborates with the Lifestyle team to conduct interviews with notable artists and write workplace culture features. ... Read More

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