Global nuclear warhead stockpile appears to be growing, SIPRI warns

Global nuclear warhead stockpile appears to be growing, SIPRI warns

Subject: International Organizations

Context: The overall number of nuclear warheads in global military stockpiles appears to be increasing this year, a new finding released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on Monday reveals.

Concept:

• The nine nuclear-armed states – the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) – together possessed an estimated 13 080 nuclear weapons at the start of 2021.
• This marked a decrease from the 13 400 that SIPRI estimated these states possessed at the beginning of 2020,” SIPRI said.
• However, SIPRI research shows that this declining trend appears to have stalled.

About SIPRI

• SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament.
• Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public.
• Based in Stockholm, SIPRI is regularly ranked among the most respected think tanks worldwide.
• The Statutes are the guiding principles of SIPRI’s work. They were adopted by the Swedish Government.
• SIPRI was established on the basis of a decision by the Swedish Parliament and receives a substantial part of its funding in the form of an annual grant from the Swedish Government.
• The Institute also seeks financial support from other organizations in order to carry out its research.