India-Pakistan: Which country is ahead of the stockpile of nuclear weapons?

June 19, 2024 3:37 am

Nine nuclear-weapon states, including the United States, Russia, France, China, India, and Pakistan, continue to modernize their nuclear arsenals. Several of these countries have also established new nuclear-capable weapons systems by 2023.

On Monday (June 17), the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Swedish think-tank based research institute, revealed such information.

According to SIPRI, China’s nuclear arsenal had 410 warheads as of January 2023. In January 2024, it increased to 500. The country expects it to continue to grow. In addition, China is believed to have some warheads on high operational alert for the first time.

According to SIPRI, there are nine nuclear-weapon states – the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel. They continue to modernize their nuclear arsenal. It has also deployed several new nuclear weapons or nuclear-capable weapons.

According to the think-tank, Russia and the United States possess about 90 percent of all nuclear weapons.

According to the report, in January this year, the number of nuclear warheads in India’s stockpile was 172. Whereas the number of Pakistanis in Pakistan was 170.

India has slightly expanded its nuclear arsenal by 2023. Both India and Pakistan continue to develop new nuclear delivery systems in 2023.

However, Pakistan remains at the heart of India’s nuclear deterrence, the report said. But now India is emphasizing long-range weapons, including those capable of reaching targets across China.

Meanwhile, China’s stockpile of nuclear warheads is still thought to be far less than that of Russia and the United States.

Source: NDTV