Who Has the Most Nukes, 1945-2025

According to the available statistics, there are 13,162 nuclear weapons in the world today. That's a lot, considering that we know from experience that the most you need to defeat an enemy is two. However, that experience comes from 80 years ago, back when no other country had the means to respond in kind. There have been times when the number of nuclear weapons was staggeringly large, peaking at more than 64,000 in 1986. What did we think we were going to do with all that?  

Sasha Medin of Data Is Beautiful put together an animated timeline to show how many nuclear weapons existed in each year since they were developed. For a statistics video, this actually has some dramatic moments, like in the 1950s when the Soviet Union raced to build their nuclear arsenal. In the late '80s, both the US and the USSR began pulling back their numbers. In 1991, the Soviet Union suddenly disappears from the timeline, as Russia became the world's biggest nuclear power, with Ukraine and Kazakhstan just below the US. Ukraine and Kazakhstan gave up their nuclear weapons in 1994. In the 21st century, the US and Russia have achieved parity as they cut back, while other nations are building their arsenals up. (via Laughing Squid)