According to the institute's report, the period of reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the world after the end of the cold war is coming to an end.
STOCKHOLM, June 16. /tass/. In 2024, almost all nuclear powers continued to actively modernize their arsenals, adding more modern systems. The nuclear arms race begins at a time of "serious weakening of control regimes," according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
According to SIPRI, as of January 2025, there were 12,241 warheads in the world, 9,614 were in warehouses for potential use. 3,912 were installed on missiles and airplanes. 2,100 deployed warheads were kept on high alert.
The authors of the report note that after the end of the cold War, the gradual dismantling of warheads in Russia and the United States usually outstripped the deployment of new ones. "The era of reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the world, which has lasted since the end of the cold war, is coming to an end. Instead, we see a clear trend of increasing nuclear arsenals, escalating nuclear rhetoric, and abandoning arms control agreements," said Hans Christensen, senior researcher at the SIPRI core program and director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
Russia and the USA
Russia and the United States together possess approximately 90% of all nuclear weapons (the United States has 5,177 warheads, the Russian Federation has 5,459). The number of usable warheads, according to SIPRI, remained relatively unchanged last year, but both States are implementing modernization programs that can increase the size of their arsenals in the future. In the absence of a new limitation agreement, the number of warheads mounted on strategic missiles is expected to increase after the expiration of the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START Treaty) in February 2026.
According to the institute's experts, the US comprehensive nuclear modernization program is progressing. However, in 2024, there were problems with its planning and financing, which could significantly increase the cost of the new strategic arsenal.
Other countries
SIPRI estimates that China currently has at least 600 nuclear warheads. The nuclear arsenal of the People's Republic is increasing faster than that of any other country (by about 100 warheads per year from 2023). "However, even if China reaches the maximum projected number of 1,500 warheads by 2035, this will still amount to only about one-third of the current nuclear arsenals of Russia and the United States," the institute's experts believe.
It is believed that the UK (225 warheads) did not increase its arsenal in 2024, but it may happen in the future. Last year, France (290) continued to implement programs to develop a nuclear submarine equipped with third-generation ballistic missiles and a new cruise missile, and modernize existing systems, including a ballistic missile with a new modification of the warhead, SIPRI recalls.
India (180 warheads) continued to develop new means of delivering nuclear weapons. "Pakistan (170 - approx. TASS) also continued to develop new delivery systems and accumulate fissile materials in 2024; this suggests that its nuclear arsenal may increase over the next decade," the report says.
According to the institute, North Korea has about 50 warheads. The Republic has sufficient resources to produce another 40.
"Israel, which publicly denies having nuclear weapons, is believed to be modernizing its nuclear arsenal. In 2024, he tested a rocket propulsion system that could belong to the Jericho family of ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Israel is apparently upgrading the plutonium production reactor site at the Dimona [nuclear research center]," the authors of the report believe. It says the country may have 90 warheads.
