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These are the nine nuclear armed countries in the world

As per a hypothetical study by the University of Colorado Boulder and Rutgers University, if India and Pakistan were to engage in a nuclear war, 50-125 million people could die within a week, with far-reaching devastating consequences across the world such as climate catastrophe and starvation.

Further, a report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has said that the total number of weapons possessed by the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea is 13,865. While this means a decrease of 600 nuclear weapons from 2018, the study also states that nuclear-possessing countries have been rapidly modernising their arsenal. Currently, Russia and the United States have 90 per cent of the world’s nuclear arsenal, however, countries such as India and China could possess a combined count of 400-500 nuclear arsenal by 2025.

While five states China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United State are officially recognised as possessing nuclear weapons by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, NPT, four (India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea) are non-NPT nuclear weapons possessors, and hence, are not legally recognised. We take a look at the nine nuclear-armed states and the kind of arsenal they possess: