The first time a nuclear weapon was used in war was August 6, 1945, when the United States detonated an atomic bomb above Hiroshima, Japan. By year’s end, an estimated 140,000 people had been killed, the majority of whom were civilians. Three days later, the U.S. detonated a second nuclear bomb over Nagasaki, killing tens of thousands more.
While these were the first - and so far only - uses of nuclear weapons in war, the production, deployment and stockpiling of them hasn’t stopped. Currently, there are estimated to be 9,585 nuclear warheads in military stockpiles for potential use across nine countries, with Russia and the U.S. accounting for 8,088 of these. There are also an estimated 2,536 retired warheads that are yet to be dismantled.
As the following chart shows, China has added 90 nuclear warheads to its arsenal since January 2023, increasing from 410 warheads to 500. This is according to data from the peace research institute SIPRI. India and North Korea have also expanded their arsenals, bringing their total figures to an estimated 170 warheads and 50 warheads, respectively.