Number of Nuclear Weapons Capable Nations (original) (raw)
The Physics Factbook™
Edited by Glenn Elert -- Written by his students
An educational, Fair Use website
topic index | author index | special index
| Bibliographic Entry | Result(w/surrounding text) | StandardizedResult |
|---|---|---|
| Beck, Rogers & Black, Kinda & Krieger, Larry & Naylor, Phillip & Shabaka Dahia. World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL. McDougal Littell: 1999. | "However, at the beginning of the 1990s, ten nations still possessed nuclear weapons." | 10 |
| List of Countries With Nuclear Weapons. Wikipedia. 21 May 2005. | "In order of acquisition of nuclear weapons these are: the United States of America, Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), the united Kingdom, France, and the People's Republic of China. Since the signing of the NPT, two other states have conducted nuclear tests - India and Pakistan. North Korea has publicly declared itself to possess nuclear weapons thought it has not conducted any confirmed tests. Israel is strongly suspected to have an arsenal of nuclear weapons though it has never confirmed or denied this. There are reports that over 100 nuclear weapons might be in their inventory." | 9 |
| Kimball, Daryl & Kerr, Paul & Boese, Wade. Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What At A Glance. Arms Control Association. April 2005. | "Four years after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945, the Soviet Union detonated its first nuclear device. The United Kingdom (1952), France (1960), and China (1964) followed. Seeking to prevent the nuclear weapon ranks from expanding further, the United States and other like-minded states negotiated the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968. In the decades since, several states have abandoned nuclear weapons programs, but others have defied the NPT. India, Israel, and Pakistan have never signed the treaty and possess nuclear arsenals. Iraq began a secret nuclear program under Saddam Hussein before the 1991 Persian Gulf War. North Korea claims to have nuclear weapons and announced its withdrawal from the NPT in January 2003." | 9 |
| Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Wikipedia. 21 May 2005. | "Only five states are permitted by the NPT to own nuclear weapons: the United States (signed 1968), United Kingdom (1968), France (1992), Soviet Union (1968; obligations and rights assumed by Russia), and the People's Republic of China (1992)." | 5 |
| Status of Nuclear Powers and Their Nuclear Capabilities. globalsecurity.org, 1 January 2005. | [see table below] | 9 |
| Status of Nuclear Countries & Their Nuclear Capabilities (data as of 01 January 2005) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | Russia | United Kingdom | France | China | Israel | India | Pakistan | North Korea | |
| Weapons | |||||||||
| Stockpile | 10,640 | 16,000 | 200 | 350 | ?400 | 200 | 110-150 | 75 | ~13 |
| Deliverable | 6,390 | 3,242 | 200 | 350 | ~325 | 200 | 110 | 75 | ~13 |
As the knowledge of nuclear technology grows everyday, the efforts taken to restrict the use of this information also grow. Fueled by the fear of a nuclear holocaust, international committees the United Nations drafted the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968, which seeks to restrict and control the use and possession of nuclear arms. According to the treaty, there only exist five states that are legally permitted to own nuclear weapons: the US, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and France.
But the Treaty could not prevent other nations to develop their own nuclear programs and to build and test their own weapons. India and Pakistan have conducted nuclear tests, and North Korea has publicly declared itself to be in possession of nuclear weapons. Israel, Iran, and Ukraine are among others who are suspected of possession. North Korea has yet to prove their claim, and they have not conducted any confirmed tests. Israel is suspected to be in possession, and South Africa have long since dismantled their nuclear program.
Aside from the declared nations and the suspected nations, there are still many more nations who have had nuclear weapon programs in the past, but are no longer actively developing or in possession of nuclear arms. Countries who previously had nuclear programs are Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Egypt, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Libya, Poland, Romania, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Yugoslavia. Countries who have not had such programs but possesses the technology and arms to develop nuclear weapons include Canada, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia.
Yuen H. Fong -- 2005