The world’s nine known nuclear-armed states possessed an estimated 12,187 nuclear warheads as of January 2026, while the number of deployed warheads rose to 4,012 from 3,912 a year earlier, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.North Korea’s nuclear arsenal grew from 50 to 60 warheads during the period, and SIPRI estimated that Pyongyang has enough fissile material to produce at least 30 additional warheads.While the global stockpile declined slightly from 12,241 warheads a year earlier, largely due to the dismantlement of retired weapons by the United States and Russia, the number of deployed warheads continued to increase.China, France and India expanded their nuclear arsenals, prompting SIPRI to warn that decades of global nuclear reductions could be reversed.
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