Nuclear Weapons
The Nuclear Information Project provides the public with reliable information about the status and trends of the nuclear weapons arsenals of the world’s nuclear-armed countries.

The Nuclear Information Project, called “one of the most widely sourced resources for nuclear warhead counts” by the Washington Post, uses open sources such as official documents, testimonies, previously undisclosed information obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, as well as independent analysis of commercial satellite imagery as the basis for developing the best available unclassified estimates of the status and trends of nuclear weapons worldwide. 

The Project also conducts analysis of the role of nuclear weapons and provides recommendations for responsibly reducing the numbers and role of nuclear weapons.

The research is mainly published on the Strategic Security Blog, in the Nuclear Notebook in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the World Nuclear Forces overview in the SIPRI Yearbook, as well as in magazines. As a primary source for reliable information on nuclear weapons, the Project is a frequent advisor to governments, parliamentarians, the news media, institutes, and non-governmental organizations. 

The Nuclear Information Project is directed by Hans M. Kristensen in collaboration with Matt Korda and Eliana Johns (and previously Robert S. Norris). The Project also collaborates with other experts and organizations.

This work builds on the Nuclear Weapons Databook project that Thomas Cochran and Robert Norris managed at NRDC for many years. Many of their publications are available here at FAS via the Archives page.

The Nuclear Information Project is currently supported with generous contributions from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the New-Land Foundation, Ploughshares Fund, the Prospect Hill Foundation, Longview Philanthropy, the Stewart R. Mott Foundation, the Future of Life Institute, Open Philanthropy, and individual donors.

We could not imagine a nuclear weapons field without the Federation of American Scientists.

-Ploughshares Fund

External Publications and Briefings

Looking for an external project publication or briefing? See the chronology with links going back more than a decade.

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In The News

Our research is used by journalists and experts around the globe. Here’s just a glimpse of the news stories based on our research.

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On Twitter

Follow Hans M. KristensenMatt Korda, and Eliana Johns on Twitter for real-time analysis and more.

Project Staff
Director, Nuclear Information Project
Hans Kristensen
Status of Worldwide Nuclear Arsenals,
Nuclear Policy and strategy, De-alerting,
Nuclear Weapons

email: hkristensen @ fas.org
twitter: @nukestrat
Senior Research Fellow, Nuclear Information Project
Matt Korda
Nuclear Deterrence and Disarmament
Progressive Foreign Policy
Global Nuclear Weapons Arsenals
Missile Defence
Nuclear-Climate Nexus
Eliana Johns smiling in front of a blue backdrop
Research Associate, Nuclear Information Project
Eliana Johns
Nuclear Deterrence and Non-proliferation,
Status of Worldwide Nuclear Arsenals,
North Korea
Scoville Peace Fellow
Mackenzie Knight
Nuclear Disarmament and Nonproliferation
Nuclear Deterrence
Nuclear Risk in Conflict
Middle East Nuclear Arsenals and Proliferation