Which countries have nuclear weapons, and how many does each one have?
Nine countries across the world either officially possess nuclear weapons or are widely believed to maintain them, with the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom being the first to develop and declare such capability.
These five powers are recognised as nuclear-weapon states under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), which seeks to prevent the spread of nuclear arms while promoting disarmament.
India and Pakistan, neither of which has signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), have gradually built up their nuclear arsenals.
India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974, followed by another in 1998. Within weeks, Pakistan carried out its own nuclear tests, marking its entry into the group of declared nuclear-armed states.
Israel, which has also not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), has never officially confirmed possessing nuclear weapons, though it is widely believed to have developed them.
North Korea became a party to the NPT in 1985 but declared its withdrawal in 2003, citing alleged US aggression. Since 2006, it has carried out a series of nuclear tests, further escalating global concerns.
Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is intended solely for peaceful purposes. US intelligence agencies currently assess that Tehran is not actively working to develop a nuclear weapon.
Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the newly established Islamic Republic of Iran began seeking support from Russia and China to develop its nuclear capabilities. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Iran openly pursued nuclear weapons research but later announced in 2003 that it had stopped its weapons programme.
However, in recent years, Iran has been enriching uranium to levels of up to 60 per cent purity, which is close to the 90 per cent required for weapons-grade material.
In its annual report released this week, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated that, as of January, nine countries possessed military nuclear warheads.
With AP inputs
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