China vs India: Country position on nuclear weapons
China
3
in 2023
India
3
in 2023
China rank
1st
India rank
1st
Country position on nuclear weapons over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 3 against 3 in India, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 86 shared years of data; in 1938 it was India ahead.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 1st of 246 countries.
Across the 10 decades both report, China averaged higher in 4 and India in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1940s | 0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | India |
| 1950s | 1.3 | 1 | 0.3 | China |
| 1960s | 2.6 | 1.3 | 1.3 | China |
| 1970s | 3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | China |
| 1980s | 3 | 2.3 | 0.7 | China |
| 1990s | 3 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 3 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 3 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 3 | 3 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher country position on nuclear weapons, China or India?
- China, at 3 against 3 in India as of 2023.
- What is the difference in country position on nuclear weapons between China and India?
- 0, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 86 years are reported by both, from 1938 to 2023.
- How do China and India rank globally for country position on nuclear weapons?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 1st of 246 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Bleek (2017); Nuclear Threat Initiative (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Country position on nuclear weapons. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Whether a country does not consider (0), considers (1), pursues (2), or possesses (3) nuclear weapons.