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Nuclear warheads in the world, 1945–2026

The count peaked at an estimated 70.4 thousand warheads in 1986; by 2026, 12.2 thousand remained, counting those retired and waiting to be taken apart.

What does this axis measure?
What does this axis measure?
Nuclear warheads in the world, 1945–2026: 40 points, a line chart.
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Nuclear warheads (thousands)
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Year
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The data: 40 points
YearNuclear warheads (thousands)
19450.01
19470.03
19490.24
19510.67
19531.56
19553.27
19577.16
195810.75
196022.14
196230.92
196538.42
196739.99
196938.28
197140.62
197345.7
197647.7
197851.17
198055.35
198156.53
198564.41
198670.37
198963.66
199158.33
199252.46
199542.37
199736.78
199835.39
200133.19
200231.9
200627.06
200823.86
201021.23
201218.86
201416.37
201615.23
201814.47
202013.14
202113.1
202412.12
202612.19
Source
Federation of American Scientists (2026), Estimated Global Nuclear Warhead Inventories; minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC-BY 4.0, as Our World in Data records it for the Federation of American Scientists
Read
2026-10-06
Drawn
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