At 172, India now has more nuclear weapons than Pakistan; US, Russia possess 90% of global arsenal, says report

With 172 nuclear weapons, India is now ahead of Pakistan in the ranking of nuclear-armed countries across the world, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has found.

Key Findings of SIPRI Yearbook 2024

• Nuclear Arsenals: Russia and the US possess the majority of the world's nuclear weapons, accounting for 90% of the total.
• China's nuclear arsenal has seen a significant increase, growing from 410 warheads in January 2023 to 500 in January 2024.
• India possesses 172 "stored" nuclear warheads as of January 2024, slightly more than Pakistan.
• Modernization: Nine nuclear-armed nations, including India, Pakistan, and China, are actively modernizing their nuclear arsenals. This includes developing new nuclear delivery systems.
• Operational Alert: Around 2,100 nuclear warheads, primarily from the US and Russia, are kept in a state of high operational alert on ballistic missiles. China also reportedly placed some warheads on high alert for the first time.
• World’s nuclear-armed states: United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Israel.

PRELIMS TAKEAWAY

• NUCLEAR WEAPON