Nuclear security

9 Countries That Control the World’s Nuclear Weapons

According to the National Nuclear Security Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Energy, the possibility that extremist groups or rogue nations will acquire nuclear weapons is one of the gravest threats facing the international community. This is one reason military stockpiles are often closely-kept national secrets. To compare arsenals, the FAS estimates the sizes of nuclear stockpiles from unclassified information. Similarly, the circumstances under which a country would consider using nuclear weapons is rarely made public. Because of their destructive nature, however, many countries adhere to a no-first-use policy.

In an interview with 24/7, Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at FAS, noted that countries often attempt to conceal or even falsely deploy weapons as part of deception tactics. This further adds to the challenge of accurately estimating nuclear stockpiles.