According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), there are approximately 12,700 total nuclear weapons in the world.
Despite efforts to reduce the production of nuclear weapons, the number of countries involved is increasing.
Nuclear weapons are explosive devices with the potential to cause great damage and have adverse effects on people, infrastructure and the environment.
All nuclear weapons are thermonuclear weapons which are also known as thermonuclear bombs, fusion weapons, hydrogen bombs or H-bombs.
The weapon is owned by 9 countries including:
Russia
United States of America (US)
China
French
United Kingdom
Pakistan
India
Israel
North Korea
Nuclear weapons produce very powerful explosions, they are measured in kilotons (1,0000 tons of TNT) and megatons (1,000,000 tons of TNT) as well as heat and radiation.
The first nuclear weapons were used in World War II by the United States against Japan in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
'Little Boy' was released in Hiroshima while 'Fat Man' in Nagasaki caused great destruction and high loss of life.
According to reports, there were 66,000 deaths and 69,000 injuries in Hiroshima while 39,000 deaths and 25,000 injuries in Nagasaki.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists stated that in 1986, the nuclear arms race between the Soviet Union and the US was at its peak.
At that time, the Soviet Union had more than 40,000 nuclear weapons while the US had 23,000 nuclear weapons.
Therefore, until now Russia and the US are still competing in producing the most nuclear weapons in the world.
According to the FAS, Russia is the country with the most nuclear weapons with 5,977, of which 1,458 are active, 3,039 are inactive but can be activated and 1,760 are to be disposed of.
The US has 5,550 nuclear weapons, 1,389 are active, 2,361 are inactive but can be activated and 1,800 are about to be disposed of.
According to a report from the US Pentagon, China will have 1,500 nuclear weapons by 2035.
In addition, India, North Korea, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and even Russia are also planning to increase the number of nuclear weapons in the coming years.
