Role of nuclear weapons grows as geopolitical relations deteriorate—new SIPRI Yearbook out now

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—continued to modernize their nuclear arsenals and several deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapon systems in 2023.Of the total global inventory of an estimated 12 121 warheads in January 2024, about9585 were in