Nuclear weapons

Nuclear weapons remain uniquely dangerous because they are uniquely destructive. Since SIPRI’s founding in 1966, one of the Institute’s main tasks has been to promote greater transparency in global nuclear armaments in order to contribute to an informed public discussion about ways to control and eventually eliminate these weapons. SIPRI tracks the trends and developments in nuclear forces and doctrines, with a particular focus on monitoring global inventories of nuclear weapons. This work involves preparing estimates of the numbers and types of warheads and associated delivery vehicles held by each of the nine known or suspected nuclear weapon-possessing states. The estimates and accompanying data is published in the SIPRI Yearbook and is released annually to the media. Click here to read a description of how SIPRI estimates world nuclear forces.

As part of its nuclear work, SIPRI conducts research to facilitate nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms control, focusing on developments linked to the principles, norms, rules and practices regulating nuclear weapons, including those related to the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). In addition, SIPRI analyses measures designed to prevent, detect and respond to the theft of nuclear and other radioactive materials or weapons, and their illicit transfer or use by non-state actors, as well as attacks on nuclear facilities. It publishes a quarterly newsletter: the ‘ITWG Nuclear Forensics Update’ on behalf of the Nuclear Forensics Technical Working Group (ITWG).