World & Nations1945–2023
Nuclear Warhead Stockpiles
From a single American bomb in 1945, the Cold War arms race spiralled to a global peak of over 64,000 warheads in 1986. The Soviet Union overtook the US around 1978 and built the largest arsenal ever assembled, before both superpowers drew down after the Cold War — even as China begins a rapid 2020s expansion.
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Source: Federation of American Scientists / Our World in Data Estimated total warhead inventories; figures for Israel and North Korea are approximate. Updated 2026-07-03