Yearly estimate by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said that India possess more nuclear weapons than Pakistan in 2024.
According to the watchdog’s evaluation of the status of weapons, disarmament, and international security, the United States is the country with the greatest number of warheads, followed by North Korea, Israel, China, India, Pakistan, Russia, and the United Kingdom.
The research also stated that as governments have become more dependent on nuclear deterrence, the function of nuclear weapons has increased along with their quantity and variety in the face of worsening geopolitical relations.
According to the report, in 2023, a number of nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable governments will have deployed new weapon systems, and the nuclear-armed states will still be updating their arsenals.
According to the study, of the 12,121 warheads in January 2024, approximately 9,585 were in military stocks awaiting possible deployment. Additionally, 3,904 of those warheads were used in conjunction with planes and missiles, which is 60 more than in January 2023. Approximately 2,100 of those warheads were retained on ballistic missiles in a condition of high operational readiness.
China is thought to have some warheads on high operational alert for the first time, although almost all of these warheads belonged to the US or Russia.
SIPRI Director Dan Smith expressed worries about this trend, saying: “Unfortunately, we continue to see year-on-year increases in the number of operational nuclear warheads, even as the global total of nuclear warheads continues to fall as cold war-era weapons are gradually dismantled.”
According to SIPRI, the US and Russia together own about 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons. They also each have over 1,200 bombs that have been retired from active duty and are now being dismantled. Additionally, an estimate has been made that China’s nuclear arsenal will have 500 warheads by January 2024, up from 410 in January 2023.
Regarding the UK, it stated that further growth in its warhead stockpile is anticipated, while France carried on with its efforts to repair and refurbish current systems and build a new air-launched cruise missile and a ballistic missile submarine fuelled by nuclear energy, all of which are third-generation.
India and North Korea are reportedly working to develop the capacity to fit multiple warheads on ballistic missiles, according to SIPRI. Also, it stated that in 2023, India somewhat increased the size of its nuclear arsenal.