The nine countries that have nuclear weapons

Only five countries out of nine have legally recognised nuclear weapons

The nuclear bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 9th August 1945 during world war two (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

North Korea has claimed to have carried out its first successful hydrogen bomb test, but which other nations have nuclear warheads? Just nine countries around the world have access to nuclear weapons, according to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

In total, there are believed to be around 16,300 nuclear weapons spread between these nine countries.

The United States, Russia, the UK, France, China, North Korea, India, Pakistan, and Israel all control some nuclear weaponry. Russia and the US share 93 per cent of all nuclear warheads, but they have been asked to reduce the number of weapons they have under the new START treaty (Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms).

Map provided by www.statista.com

North Korea is alleged to have fewer than ten nuclear warheads, compared to Russia's arsenal of 7500.

(SIPRI)

Only five of the countries with nuclear weapons are legal however - China, France, Russia, the UK, and the USA. SIPRA has noted that ‘all five are either deploying new nuclear weapon delivery systems or have announced programs to do so’.

SIPRI notes that all five legally recognized nuclear weapon states — China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA— are either deploying new nuclear weapon delivery systems or have announced programs to do so'.

North Korea was the last country on the list to develop nuclear weapons in 2006, while the US was the first in 1945, with Russia following a close second in 1949.