The Nine Countries Around The World With Nuclear Weapons
Packed with incredibly deadly force, nuclear weapons can cause destruction at an immense scale if detonated.
History and evolution
Known as the weapon of mass destruction, nuclear bombs can be taken as one of the most serious threat to safety and security of the people living around the world. They are immensely powerful and has evolved over the course of time gaining more destructive power.
Taking a brief look at history, we come to know that the first nuclear weapon was used against humanity in 1945. It was when Japan was hit by two nuclear bombs; one in Hiroshima and the other in Nagasaki with a difference of three days. It is considered as the turning point in the history of mankind according to most of the historians and the results of these bombings were horrible as hundreds of thousands of people were affected by it. However, the event was criticized by almost all of the countries around the world.
On the contrary, some countries also started heavily investing large sums of money on the invention and development of technologies related to nuclear weaponry and bombs. It is since then, that most of the states around the globe are taking more and more interests to make improvements in the field of nuclear weapons. These measures are mostly taken by the countries to safeguard their existence on map, owing to the serious threats that are posed by the enemies.
Though whatever is the reason for the countries to adopt nuclear weaponry, the fact cannot be denied that the feeling of severe danger from these extremely deadly warfare tools is always there and is felt among societies that are usually at war with each other.
Due to the ever-changing political landscape of the world and owing to the multiple factors related to the threat and security of countries across the globe, there are now nine countries that are recognized to be armed with nuclear weapons. The following list has been ordered ascendingly according to the years in which the mentioned countries became nuclear states.
The United States
The United States of America carried out it’s first testing of nuclear weapons in the year 1945 and became the first country to have nukes. As per the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) the count of US nuclear warheads is about 6,800 having retired, dismantled and deployed warheads.
In the year 1949, Russia formerly a part of the Soviet Union detonated its first nuclear bomb. It all happened much sooner than it was expected as the War War II was just ended. The Soviets carried out nuclear weapon testing multiple times. According to International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANW) there is about 7000 nuclear warhead of Russia, which is a count containing retired, dismantled and currently deployed warheads.
The year 1952 was a game changer for The UK. It was in this year that this country developed and tested its own nuclear weapon independently. Currently, the sole caretaker of the nuclear weaponry in the UK is their missile submarine force. Upon shedding light on the reports released by International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANW), the stockpile of nuclear warheads of the UK is about 215, containing all retired, dismantled and deployed warheads.
The French people stand in the line as the fourth nation in the world to adopt nuclear weaponry. 1960 was the year when France developed and tested its very own nuclear weapon independently. As the cold war came to an end, France was the country that disarmed about 175 warheads. France has a strong understanding and awareness of nuclear technology that causes it to thrive in the particular field while playing a responsible role in terms of their relationship with other countries. When compiled in numbers by International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANW) there are about 300 (retired, dismantled and deployed) warheads in France.
With 260 (retired, dismantled and deployed) warheads as per International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANW), China came on the fifth number in terms of becoming the nuclear power. The country carried out its first successful nuclear test in 1964
The world’s most populous democracy, India became a nuclear state in the year 1974 after testing its nuclear assets. No doubt it is one of those countries that are carrying out the development in the field of technology related to nuclear weaponry at a rapid pace. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANW) tells us that there are about 120 (retired, dismantled and deployed) nuclear warheads of India.
This country entered in the race of the countries with nukes at nearly the end of 20th century in the year 1998 and became the seventh country possessing nuclear power. It has about 130 (retired, dismantled and deployed) nuclear warheads and according to International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANW), noteworthy development has been made in terms of increasing the total size of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
It is widely believed and is also accepted by a lot of organizations and stakeholders thst Israel possesses nuclear weapons. However, it is impossible to share any official statistics due to the lack of existence of any proper record. The nuclear warheads of Israel are expected to be numbered somewhere between 75 to 400.
With less than 10 nuclear warheads, North Korea is the latest entrant as it joined the nuclear club in 2006. Again as there is not much information available regarding the capability of North Korea regarding the implementation of nuclear weapons technology, not can be declared publicly with one-hundred percent surety.
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty
The purpose of this treaty is to prevent the increasing influence of nuclear weapons and their use. The names of the five countries that are included in Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapon Treaty include China, France, Russia, the UK and the United States. However the remaining four countries with nuclear power including Pakistan, India, Israel(which is presumed to have nukes) and North Korea have not signed the treaty yet.