2022: THE COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN THE WORLD 

Did you know that nuclear weapons have been deployed twice in war, by the United States against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 during World War II, and that only a small fraction of nuclear bombs would destroy the world?

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. Other names for it are atom bomb, atomic bomb, nuclear bomb or nuclear warhead, and colloquially as an A-bomb or nuke.

The first test of a fission ("atomic") bomb released an amount of energy approximately equal to 20,000 tons of TNT (84 TJ). The first thermonuclear ("hydrogen") bomb test released energy approximately equal to 10 million tons of TNT (42 PJ). Nuclear bombs have had yields between 10 tons TNT (the W54) and 50 megatons for the Tsar Bomba. A thermonuclear weapon weighing as little as 600 pounds (270 kg) can release energy equal to more than 1.2 megatonnes of TNT (5.0 PJ).

A nuclear device no larger than a conventional bomb can devastate an entire city by blast, fire, and radiation. Since they are weapons of mass destruction, the proliferation of nuclear weapons is a focus of international relations policy. International agreements are governed by a variety of bilateral and multilateral treaties, the most notable of which is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of nuclear weapons, which was signed in 1970. It is an agreement between member governments not to expand or proliferate their nuclear weapons stockpiles. Furthermore, the NPT established the commitment to nuclear disarmament or reduction. The distinction between non-proliferation and disarmament is clear, and the divided viewpoints are highlighted by the “Waltz-Sagan dispute.”

The development of nuclear weapons is a closely guarded government secret. The accuracy of the figures presented is suspect at best and is based mostly on educated estimations based on historical data paired with judgments regarding nuclear material ownership and the technological capabilities to weaponize nuclear material by developing a delivery device. The following are current nuclear weapons-in-use estimates per nation.

1. RUSSIA 

Russia possesses the world’s greatest nuclear arsenal, according to most estimates. Putin possessed 6,255 nukes as of late 2021, according to the Stockholm Peace Institute. The number is estimated to be between 5,977 and 6,257 by other nuclear proliferation watchdogs. In 1949, the Soviet Union carried out the first nuclear test (RDS-1) and became the second country in the world to develop and test nuclear weapons, behind the US. The current total includes 1,760 warheads that are believed to be in the process of being decommissioned.

2. THE UNITED STATES

The US possesses around 5,550 nuclear weapons, with 1,800 of them ‘deployed,’ meaning they are on missiles or at facilities with active forces. Fearing that Nazi Germany might develop nuclear weapons first, the US collaborated with the UK and Canada on the Manhattan Project to build the first nuclear weapons during World War II. It was the first country to use nuclear bombs in a war. In 1952, it was the first country to test a prototype of the hydrogen bomb, and in 1954, it was the first country to test a deployable weapon.

3. CHINA

China has less than a tenth of the resources that the US, or 290. Last November, a Pentagon report warned that China’s nuclear arsenal was growing more faster than the US had anticipated a year earlier. The US is afraid that by 2030, Beijing would have more than 1,000 weapons. At the Lop Nur test site in 1964, China conducted its first nuclear weapon test, designed as a deterrence to both the US and the Soviet Union. Two years later, China developed a fission bomb that could be placed into a nuclear missile.

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4. FRANCE

With 290 nuclear weapons, France ranks among the countries with the most nuclear weapons in the world. The majority of these weapons are submarine-based, with the remainder being cruise missiles launched from the air. In 1960, the country conducted its first nuclear attack test.

5. THE UNITED KINGDOM

The UK has roughly 225 nuclear weapons and began its nuclear weapons program during World War II. In 1952, the UK tested the first nuclear weapon, dubbed “Hurricane.” During the Manhattan Project, the UK worked closely with the US and Canada, but when US secrecy increased after 1945, it was compelled to create its own technique of producing and detonating a bomb. The UK became the world’s third country to develop and test nuclear weapons. The government has conducted 45 nuclear weapons tests to date.

6. PAKISTAN

Pakistan possesses 165 nuclear weapons and wants to build more by 2021. Pakistan is officially not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Since the late 1970s, Pakistan has been secretly developing nuclear weapons. Pakistan got its start with nuclear weapon in the early 1970s, when it built its first nuclear power plant in Karachi with mostly Western-supplied equipment and components. The country’s tense relationship with India has a significant impact on the country’s nuclear weapons production rate. Pakistan resumed nuclear weapons testing in 1988, citing national security concerns.

7. INDIA

India has been in an arms race with Pakistan for a long time, with 156 nuclear weapons. Like Pakistan, India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In 1998, India implemented the “no first use” policy. In 1974, India conducted a test of a “peaceful nuclear explosive” (which became known as “Smiling Buddha”).

8. NORTH KOREA

With 50 nuclear weapons, North Korea is assumed to have the fewest on the list, although it is a famously secretive country. In 2018, the government agreed to a nuclear and long-range missile testing freeze, however long-range missile tests resumed in 2020. North Korea claimed the successful completion of a nuclear test on October 9, 2006, conducting many missile tests over the Sea of Japan.

In conclusion, knowing the devastating damage and repercussions of two nuclear bombs unleashed on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the question is why would any government want hundreds upon thousands of nuclear warheads? Practically, only a small fraction of that would destroy the world as we know it, but politically, accumulating weapons was a way of demonstrating worldwide dominance. Because of the Cold War arms race, Russia and the United States still have the most nuclear weapons.

Sources:

https://bscholarly.com/countries-with-the-most-nuclear-weapons-in-the-world/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon