According to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the number and types of nuclear weapons continue to rise globally. The report states that the nine nuclear-armed states— the United States, Russia, Britain, France, India, China, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel—continued to modernize their nuclear forces in 2023, with some countries deploying nuclear weapons during the year.
Regarding Israel, the report indicates that the state does not publicly acknowledge possessing nuclear weapons but appears to be on the path to updating its arsenal and possibly upgrading its plutonium production reactor in Dimona. The nine nuclear-armed states possess a total of 12,121 nuclear warheads, of which 9,585 are active as of January 2024. Among these warheads, approximately 3,904 are deployed on missiles and aircraft—an increase of 60 warheads since January 2023—while the remainder is held in reserve. The authors of the report estimate that about 2,100 nuclear warheads are deployed on ballistic missiles and kept in a high-alert status for immediate action. Almost all of these high-alert warheads belong to the United States and Russia, which together account for around 90% of the global nuclear stockpile. However, for the first time, there are indications that China has also deployed a limited number of nuclear warheads in a high-alert status during peacetime.
**China Reaches Warhead Number 500**
According to SIPRI, China’s stockpile of nuclear warheads increased from 410 in January 2023 to 500 in January 2024 and is expected to continue growing. The institute's experts estimate that by the end of the decade, depending on how China builds its military forces, it could match or exceed the United States or Russia in the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles it possesses.
Hans Kristensen, a senior researcher at SIPRI, stated, "China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country. But in almost all nuclear-armed states, there are either plans or significant pushes to increase nuclear forces." Wilfred Wan, director of the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Program, emphasized the increasing importance of nuclear weapons in international relations, saying, "We have not seen such a prominent role for nuclear weapons in international relations since the Cold War. It is hard to believe that it has hardly been two years since the leaders of the five major nuclear-armed states reaffirmed that 'nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.'"