Yes, according to experts, the US and Russia own 90% of the world’s nuclear stockpiles, as the virus graph shows.

During his address to the nation in Moscow on February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he was suspending Russia’s participation in the New START treaty, which is a nuclear arms agreement with the United States.

After he made this announcement, “World War III” was trending on Twitter along with a graph showing the estimated number of nuclear warheads in every country around the world.

Experts estimate that the US and Russia own 90% of the world’s nuclear stockpiles, as the virus graph shows?

Yes, according to experts, the US and Russia own 90% of the world’s nuclear stockpiles.

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The data shown in the graph was published by a team from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) Nuclear Information Project. According to the FAS, the data are estimates based on publicly available information, analysis of historical records and accidental leaks.

As of early 2022, nine countries in the world have approximately 12,700 nuclear warheads. According to the data, approximately 90% of them belong to Russia (5,977) and the United States (5,428).

Hans Christensen, director of the Nuclear Information Program, told VERIFY that the following types of nuclear weapons are considered:

• Weapons deployed on launchers that can be used when ready.
• Weapons in long-term storage that are not currently intended for deployment but can be returned to launchers.
• Weapons used in military depots have been decommissioned. They are probably stored in warehouses and will be dismantled at some point in the future.

Christensen said the exact number of nuclear weapons each country has is largely a secret. The degree of secrecy varies from country to country.

“The United States is, beyond compare, the most affordable. Not just in terms of the big numbers they share from time to time, but the details of the upgrade program, congressional discussions, budget information…because we live in a democracy,” Christensen told VERIFY.

He said the most secret countries include North Korea and Israel. They are followed by Russia, China, India and Pakistan. China, India, North Korea, Pakistan and Russia are among those countries that, according to the FAS, are also increasing their reserves.

For countries that don’t always provide stockpile information, Christensen said the FAS uses its own research by checking local news and tracking down military bases.

“We can see when new systems are coming in, if the base is full and how many launchers are there,” Christensen said. “We use all this information, including from the armed forces. We also include research done by other institutions… It’s a big mosaic of information that we’re trying to make sense of.”

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), based in London, is one of the institutions FAS uses to collect data. Each year, the IISS publishes the Military Balance, which provides up-to-date available data on the military organizations of 171 countries.

The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) also maintains estimates of the total number of nuclear weapons in the world. NTI’s estimates are slightly higher than FAS’s: 13,100 nuclear weapons in nine countries. Twenty-two countries have materials that could be used to build nuclear weapons, according to NTI.

Christensen said Putin’s decision to suspend Russia’s participation in the New START treaty would limit the amount of information passed on to the US, such as the total number of weapons. This will make it harder for researchers to keep track of the number of weapons Russia has.

Putin said he would abide by the treaty’s limit on the number of nuclear weapons it could have and agreed that Russia would continue to share information on ballistic missile test launches.

Using estimates to spread nuclear war claims is irresponsible, FAS says

Christensen was surprised to learn that FAS data is circulating on social media along with “World War III” trends. He said that was never the intent of releasing the data.

“Here is a predicament. When you make information public, you have no control over how it will be used,” he said. “We are not going to paint a picture falling from the sky. We’re trying to give people factual information so they can discuss it.”

“Actually, it’s a little irresponsible to portray such scenarios of skyfall during World War III, because it glosses over a huge amount of detail. All these nine countries in the world that have nuclear weapons. They have different strategies for using them. They don’t necessarily think alike, and they don’t have the same arsenals. There is a huge difference between them,” Christensen added.

“Some are young; they have very little experience in how to deal with a nuclear crisis. Others are very old. They have been in this business for many, many decades and have a lot of experience in how to run it. So it’s a shame to lump it all together. And I just want to say, you know, the bottom line here is that numbers by themselves don’t tell you anything about what countries are going to do about it.”

Christensen told VERIFY that it’s important for agencies around the world to keep track of stockpiles of nuclear materials, and for governments to be open with their data.

“If you know something about what is happening, then there is less chance that you will overreact and panic. When complete secrecy reigns, the ground for all sorts of exaggerations and rumors is created, ”said Christensen. “Transparency is, to some degree, really important to stay on the cutting edge of a form of disinformation and misinformation that accumulates over time and can get much worse.”