Global nuclear weapons: Who has them, and how many do they have?

While The Speculation Over Iran's Nuclear Capabilities Continue, Who Has The Capability Now?

The conversation continues over when Iran will have the capability to deploy and deliver a nuclear warhead, or to possibly provide a nuclear device to a terrorist organization for delivery by other means. The idea that a terrorist state will at some point have this type of destructive power at it's fingertips is frightening, and a circumstance that needs to be avoided at all costs.

At the same time, over 20,000 nuclear devices already exist around the world. While most are hopefully well secured by those states who possess them, serious questions exist concerning who has control over these weapons in others.

Who manages the stockpile of weapons in a country like Pakistan? Are they friends, or is there potential for a rogue inside the government to take control and fire a missile, or sell nuclear material to an enemy of the world?

Russia and the United States during the heat of the Cold War were constrained by the idea of mutually assured destruction. Will India and Pakistan be bound by the same? North Korea, with an undetermined number of weapons, is led by a dictator whose actions are unpredictable, on a border with South Korea that has been called the most dangerous slice of land in the world.

The questions are many with the answers unsure. What is known is who currently possesses nuclear weapons, and a good approximation of the number that they have.

ESTIMATED GLOBAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS INVENTORIES, 2009

Russia                     13,000*

United States           9,400**

France                     300

China                       240

Britain                      180

Israel                        80–100

Pakistan                   70–90

India                         60–80

North Korea              ?

TOTAL                       23,360 (Approximately)

* Approximately 4,850 of the Russian warheads are operational or active. the status of the other 8,150
warheads is unclear. Some portion may be in reserve with the balance retired and awaiting dismantlement.
** Approximately 5,200 of the U.S. warheads are in the military stockpile (about 2,700 deployed); 4,200
retired warheads are awaiting dismantlement.

Data courtesy of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Photo courtesy of Flickr