Russia and the United States Still Dominate Global Nuclear Weapons Ownership in 2022

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) reports that nine countries possessed the world's largest nuclear warhead inventories at the beginning of 2022. These nine countries held a combined total of 12,700 warheads.

Approximately 90 percent of all nuclear warheads are owned by Russia and the United States, with 5,977 and 5,428 nuclear warheads in their respective military arsenals.

Globally, the overall stockpile of nuclear weapons is decreasing, but the rate of reduction is slowing compared to the previous 30 years. Furthermore, this reduction is only occurring because the United States and Russia are still dismantling previously retired warheads.

Unlike the overall nuclear weapons stockpile, the number of warheads in the global military inventory—consisting of warheads assigned to operational forces—is still increasing.

The FAS reveals that the United States is still working to slowly reduce its nuclear stockpile. Meanwhile, France and Israel maintain relatively stable stockpiles. However, China, India, North Korea, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom, as well as possibly Russia, are all considered to be increasing their stockpiles.