Interactive: The World’s Nuclear Arsenals Over Time
The Good News: There are far less nuclear warheads around than there were during the peak of the Cold War. In 1986, there were 64,099 stockpiled warheads and today there is less than 1/6 of that.
The Bad News: there are still enough to blow up the world 100x over, and on average each one is more powerful. Also, some countries that don’t like each other very much (India, Pakistan) are in possession of the technology.
The above interactive infographic puts it all in perspective over time. Data can be organized by choosing the countries’ arsenals to be viewed, and to also scroll along the years to see the international nuclear climate at a particular time.
Today, 91.5% of nukes are still held by either United States and Russia. The rest are held by the United Kingdom, France, India, Pakistan, China, and Israel. North Korea also holds the technology, including the capability to enrich uranium and recover plutonium from spent fuel rods. Pyongyang successfully launched a long-range missile in 2012 and has conducted three different underground nuclear tests in 2006, 2009, and 2013.
Original graphic by: The Nuclear Bulletin
