Top 10 Nuclear Weapons Countries

It has been predicted that we humans ourselves will destroy our planet Earth with war, which has been so gracefully gifted to us by God. Numerous wars have been fought till date, wherein some have been the aggressors while others had to scramble to defend their nation. There are many things that need to be noted when one talks about the pros and cons of nuclear weapons. Whatever the reason for acquiring arms, every country needs to defend its soil. In the race to do so, some have gone way ahead of others, and thus find a place in the list of top 10 nuclear weapons countries in the entire world.

The race for arms among the top 10 military powers of the world has been hot since the past 60 - 70 years. There are other countries too that are believed to possess nuclear arms and warheads, but that remains a secret or unconfirmed. For now, let us have a look at the top 10 nuclear power countries around the world.

Nuclear Weapons Countries List

Rank	Country	First Year of Testing	Code Name	Active Warheads	Total Warheads	Status
1.	United States	1945	Trinity	1950	8500	NPT
2.	Russia	1949	RDS-1	2430	11000	NPT
3.	United Kingdom	1952	Hurricane	160	225	NPT
4.	France	1960	Gerboise Bleue	290	300	NPT
5.	China	1964	596	180	240	NPT
6.	India	1974	Smiling Buddha	Unknown	100	Non-NPT
7.	Pakistan	1998	Chagai-I	Unknown	100	Non-NPT
8.	North Korea	2006	2006 Test	Unknown	10	Non-NPT
9.	Israel	1979	Vela Incident	Unknown	100+	Undeclared
10.	Germany/Belgium/Canada/Greece/ Italy/Netherlands/Turkey	Provided by US	---	---	---	---

Countries With Nuclear Weapons

These are the top 10 nuclear countries on our planet. The top 5 mentioned here are member of the (NPT) Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The next 3 countries are not members of the NPT. Israel is a non-declared state regarding nuclear weapons, and the rest are NATO nuclear weapons sharing nations.

United States: During World War II, it was feared that the Nazi regime would strive to develop nuclear weapons. As such, the United States started the Manhattan Project along with Canada and the United Kingdom. Trinity was first developed in 1945. The US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 2 Japanese cities, and is the only nation till date to have used nuclear weapons against any other country.

Russia: After the World War, Russia needed to restore some balance of power during the Cold War era. They were desperate and scrambled to develop their own nuclear weapons program, to be on the same page with the US. It is also believed that Russia made use of many spies to help develop their projects. Russia has the distinction of detonating the most powerful device by humans, the Tsar Bomba.

United Kingdom: Hurricane was first tested by the UK in 1952. A lot of its resources and data was taken from the Manhattan Project, that was done in collaboration with the United States. The UK's main aim was that its project act as a deterrent to Russia. It did not want to reply completely on the US for help, and wanted to be an independent nuclear power itself.

France: Now the French did not want to be lagging behind either. It wanted to be a power to reckon with, at least in Europe, if not around the world. A commendable fact is that most of the project was carried out on indigenous data. Gerboise Bleue was tested in 1960.

China: China was wary of both the US and Russia. 596 was first tested in 1964. But once the Chinese got started, they worked hard and fast, and were striving to be at par with the 2 superpowers of the world, Russia and the US. Although, China is the only country in the nuclear weapons club to have adopted the 'first no use' policy.

India: India tested Smiling Budhha in 1974. India maintained that it was a peaceful nuclear program, but it was alleged that dual-use technology was in use, where civilian nuclear technology could be secretly channeled to weapons technology. India's aim was to be at par with China, and also make sure that its neighbor Pakistan was aware of India's power.

Pakistan: Not wanting to be left behind by India, Pakistan started its own nuclear program, which is believed to have been helped by China. But it was only in 1998 that Pakistan tested Chagia, and is believed to be a nation in hot pursuit of increasing its stockpile.

North Korea: The first test by North Korea was as recently as 2006. North Korea was a member of the NPT until 2003. Not much is known about the tests and subsequent projects, as North Korea is one of the most secretive countries in the world.

Israel: Israel has never officially declared that it is a nuclear weapons state, and has always maintained that whatever it does is related to its civilian nuclear program. Though, bunkers for weapons, mobile missile launchers, and launch sites have been captured in satellite images on numerous occasions.

Germany/Belgium/Canada/Greece/Italy/Netherlands/Turkey: These are NATO countries, and as a result of the NATO nuclear weapons sharing program, these nations have deployed and stored nuclear weapons that have been provided by the United States. This program is believed to be compliant with the NPT, as the US possesses absolute custody and control of these nuclear weapons.

Besides these top 10 nuclear weapons countries, there are a few countries that are on the verge of realizing their nuclear dreams, though things are not very clear about them in this regard. These countries are Iran, Iraq and Syria, though at present, Iraq is not able to work towards a nuclear goal due to their situation as regards to the US. Then there were a few countries who were considered nuclear powers earlier. Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine became nuclear powers when they inherited weapons due to the fall of the USSR. But they have given back these weapons to Russia and joined the NPT. Lastly, countries such as South Africa, Argentina, South Korea, Libya, Brazil and Taiwan, have all had nuclear weapon programs, but have shelved them eventually.