United States
NPT nuclear-weapon state civil nuclear programme
Estimated total
5,042
warheads · 2026-01
United States is estimated to hold 5,042 nuclear warheads, about 41% of the world total, of which roughly 3,700 are in its military stockpile and 1,770 are deployed with operational forces. All figures are open-source estimates as of 2026-01.
The only state to have used nuclear weapons in war. Its stockpile has fallen by roughly 85% from a 1967 peak of over 31,000, and it is the only state that has periodically declassified its historical stockpile numbers.
Estimated inventory · 2026-01
| Deployed strategic | 1,670 |
|---|---|
| Deployed non-strategic | 100 |
| Reserve / non-deployed | 1,930 |
| Military stockpile | 3,700 |
| Total inventory | 5,042 incl. retired |
| Share of world total | 41.4% |
Programme
| First test | 1945-07-16 |
|---|---|
| NPT status | NPT nuclear-weapon state |
| Publicly declared | Yes |
| Fissile material route | Highly enriched uranium and plutonium |
| Civil programme | Reactors in United States |
Nuclear-powered vessels
Naval propulsion is the largest use of highly enriched uranium outside weapons programmes.
| Programme | Type | Fuel enrichment |
|---|---|---|
| Columbia class | submarine | HEU |
| Gerald R. Ford class | carrier | HEU |
| Los Angeles class | submarine | HEU |
| Nimitz class | carrier | HEU |
| Ohio class | submarine | HEU |
| Seawolf class | submarine | HEU |
| Virginia class | submarine | HEU |
Other armed states
| Country | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| Russia | 5,420 |
| China | 620 |
| France | 370 |
| United Kingdom | 225 |
| India | 190 |
| Pakistan | 170 |
| Israel | 90 |
| North Korea | 60 |
Sources
- Federation of American Scientists, Status of World Nuclear Forces · retrieved 2026-09-07
- SIPRI Yearbook 2026, chapter 8: World nuclear forces
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data