Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has released its annual assessment report titled ” SIPRI Yearbook 2023″.
key highlights
- The size of China’s nuclear arsenal increased from 350 warheads in January 2022 to 410 in January 2023, and it is expected to keep growing.
- The nine nuclear-armed states —the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Israel—continue to modernise their nuclear arsenals and several deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapon systems in 2022.
- Of the total global inventory of an estimated 12, 512 warheads in January 2023, about 9,576 were in military stockpiles for potential use — 86 more than in January 2022.
- Russia and the U.S. together possess almost 90% of all nuclear weapons. The sizes of their respective nuclear arsenals (useable warheads) seem to have remained relatively stable in 2022.
- India and Pakistan appear to be expanding their nuclear arsenal. Both countries introduced and continued to develop new types of nuclear delivery system in 2022.
- The nuclear arsenals of India grew from 160 in 2022 to 164 in 2023 and that of Pakistan from 165 to 170.
