Country position on nuclear weapons in Iran
Iran: Country position on nuclear weapons was 2 in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2023)
2
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
10th
of 246 countries
All-time high
2
in 1989
All-time low
0
in 1938
Years of data
86
1938–2023
Country position on nuclear weapons in Iran, 1938–2023
Source: Bleek (2017); Nuclear Threat Initiative (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Iran recorded 2 for country position on nuclear weapons in 2023. That is the highest value across all 86 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, country position on nuclear weapons in Iran peaked at 2 in 1989 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1938.
Iran ranks 10th of 246 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Country position on nuclear weapons in Iran, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1938 | 0 | — |
| 1939 | 0 | — |
| 1940 | 0 | — |
| 1941 | 0 | — |
| 1942 | 0 | — |
| 1943 | 0 | — |
| 1944 | 0 | — |
| 1945 | 0 | — |
| 1946 | 0 | — |
| 1947 | 0 | — |
| 1948 | 0 | — |
| 1949 | 0 | — |
| 1950 | 0 | — |
| 1951 | 0 | — |
| 1952 | 0 | — |
| 1953 | 0 | — |
| 1954 | 0 | — |
| 1955 | 0 | — |
| 1956 | 0 | — |
| 1957 | 0 | — |
| 1958 | 0 | — |
| 1959 | 0 | — |
| 1960 | 0 | — |
| 1961 | 0 | — |
| 1962 | 0 | — |
| 1963 | 0 | — |
| 1964 | 0 | — |
| 1965 | 0 | — |
| 1966 | 0 | — |
| 1967 | 0 | — |
| 1968 | 0 | — |
| 1969 | 0 | — |
| 1970 | 0 | — |
| 1971 | 0 | — |
| 1972 | 0 | — |
| 1973 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | 1 | — |
| 1975 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1981 | 0 | — |
| 1982 | 0 | — |
| 1983 | 0 | — |
| 1984 | 1 | — |
| 1985 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 1990 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2 | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.6 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 1990s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iran
- 11 Syria 1 compare
- 12 Afghanistan 0
- 12 Aland Islands 0
- 12 Albania 0
- 12 Algeria 0 compare
- 12 American Samoa 0
- 12 Andorra 0
- 12 Angola 0
- 12 Anguilla 0
- 12 Antigua and Barbuda 0
- 12 Argentina 0 compare
- 12 Armenia 0
- 12 Aruba 0
- 12 Australia 0 compare
- 12 Austria 0
- 12 Azerbaijan 0
- 12 Bahamas 0
- 12 Bahrain 0
- 12 Bangladesh 0
- 12 Barbados 0
- 12 Belarus 0
- 12 Belgium 0
- 12 Belize 0
- 12 Benin 0
- 12 Bermuda 0
- 12 Bhutan 0
- 12 Bolivia 0
- 12 Bonaire Sint Eustatius and Saba 0
- 12 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0
- 12 Botswana 0
- 12 Bouvet Island 0
- 12 Brazil 0 compare
- 12 British Indian Ocean Territory 0
- 12 British Virgin Islands 0
- 12 Brunei 0
- 12 Bulgaria 0
- 12 Burkina Faso 0
- 12 Burundi 0
- 12 Cambodia 0
- 12 Cameroon 0
- 12 Canada 0
- 12 Cape Verde 0
- 12 Cayman Islands 0
- 12 Central African Republic 0
- 12 Chad 0
- 12 Chile 0
- 12 Christmas Island 0
- 12 Cocos Islands 0
- 12 Colombia 0
- 12 Comoros 0
- 12 Congo 0
- 12 Cook Islands 0
- 12 Costa Rica 0
- 12 Cote d'Ivoire 0
- 12 Croatia 0
- 12 Cuba 0
- 12 Curacao 0
- 12 Cyprus 0
- 12 Czechia 0
- 12 Democratic Republic of Congo 0
- 12 Denmark 0
- 12 Djibouti 0
- 12 Dominica 0
- 12 Dominican Republic 0
- 12 East Timor 0
- 12 Ecuador 0
- 12 Egypt 0 compare
- 12 El Salvador 0
- 12 Equatorial Guinea 0
- 12 Eritrea 0
- 12 Estonia 0
- 12 Eswatini 0
- 12 Ethiopia 0
- 12 Falkland Islands 0
- 12 Faroe Islands 0
- 12 Fiji 0
- 12 Finland 0
- 12 French Guiana 0
- 12 French Polynesia 0
- 12 French Southern Territories 0
- 12 Gabon 0
- 12 Gambia 0
- 12 Georgia 0
- 12 Germany 0 compare
- 12 Ghana 0
- 12 Gibraltar 0
- 12 Greece 0
- 12 Greenland 0
- 12 Grenada 0
- 12 Guadeloupe 0
- 12 Guam 0
- 12 Guatemala 0
- 12 Guernsey 0
- 12 Guinea 0
- 12 Guinea-Bissau 0
- 12 Guyana 0
- 12 Haiti 0
- 12 Heard Island and McDonald Islands 0
- 12 Honduras 0
- 12 Hong Kong 0
- 12 Hungary 0
- 12 Iceland 0
- 12 Indonesia 0 compare
- 12 Iraq 0 compare
- 12 Ireland 0
- 12 Isle of Man 0
- 12 Italy 0 compare
- 12 Jamaica 0
- 12 Japan 0 compare
- 12 Jersey 0
- 12 Jordan 0
- 12 Kazakhstan 0
- 12 Kenya 0
- 12 Kiribati 0
- 12 Kuwait 0
- 12 Kyrgyzstan 0
- 12 Laos 0
- 12 Latvia 0
- 12 Lebanon 0
- 12 Lesotho 0
- 12 Liberia 0
- 12 Libya 0 compare
- 12 Liechtenstein 0
- 12 Lithuania 0
- 12 Luxembourg 0
- 12 Macao 0
- 12 Madagascar 0
- 12 Malawi 0
- 12 Malaysia 0
- 12 Maldives 0
- 12 Mali 0
- 12 Malta 0
- 12 Marshall Islands 0
- 12 Martinique 0
- 12 Mauritania 0
- 12 Mauritius 0
- 12 Mayotte 0
- 12 Mexico 0
- 12 Micronesia (country) 0
- 12 Moldova 0
- 12 Monaco 0
- 12 Mongolia 0
- 12 Montenegro 0
- 12 Montserrat 0
- 12 Morocco 0
- 12 Mozambique 0
- 12 Myanmar 0
- 12 Namibia 0
- 12 Nauru 0
- 12 Nepal 0
- 12 Netherlands 0
- 12 New Caledonia 0
- 12 New Zealand 0
- 12 Nicaragua 0
- 12 Niger 0
- 12 Nigeria 0
- 12 Niue 0
- 12 Norfolk Island 0
- 12 North Macedonia 0
- 12 Northern Mariana Islands 0
- 12 Norway 0 compare
- 12 Oman 0
- 12 Palau 0
- 12 Palestine 0
- 12 Panama 0
- 12 Papua New Guinea 0
- 12 Paraguay 0
- 12 Peru 0
- 12 Philippines 0
- 12 Pitcairn 0
- 12 Poland 0
- 12 Portugal 0
- 12 Puerto Rico 0
- 12 Qatar 0
- 12 Reunion 0
- 12 Romania 0 compare
- 12 Rwanda 0
- 12 Saint Barthelemy 0
- 12 Saint Helena 0
- 12 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0
- 12 Saint Lucia 0
- 12 Saint Martin (French Part) 0
- 12 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 0
- 12 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0
- 12 Samoa 0
- 12 San Marino 0
- 12 Sao Tome and Principe 0
- 12 Saudi Arabia 0
- 12 Senegal 0
- 12 Serbia 0 compare
- 12 Seychelles 0
- 12 Sierra Leone 0
- 12 Singapore 0
- 12 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 0
- 12 Slovakia 0
- 12 Slovenia 0
- 12 Solomon Islands 0
- 12 Somalia 0
- 12 South Africa 0 compare
- 12 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 0
- 12 South Korea 0 compare
- 12 South Sudan 0
- 12 Spain 0
- 12 Sri Lanka 0
- 12 Sudan 0
- 12 Suriname 0
- 12 Sweden 0 compare
- 12 Switzerland 0 compare
- 12 Taiwan 0 compare
- 12 Tajikistan 0
- 12 Tanzania 0
- 12 Thailand 0
- 12 Togo 0
- 12 Tokelau 0
- 12 Tonga 0
- 12 Trinidad and Tobago 0
- 12 Tunisia 0
- 12 Turkey 0
- 12 Turkmenistan 0
- 12 Turks and Caicos Islands 0
- 12 Tuvalu 0
- 12 Uganda 0
- 12 Ukraine 0
- 12 United Arab Emirates 0
- 12 United States Virgin Islands 0
- 12 Uruguay 0
- 12 Uzbekistan 0
- 12 Vanuatu 0
- 12 Vatican 0
- 12 Venezuela 0
- 12 Vietnam 0
- 12 Wallis and Futuna 0
- 12 Western Sahara 0
- 12 Yemen 0
- 12 Zambia 0
- 12 Zimbabwe 0
More energy & mining data for Iran
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 0.5768 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 2.0% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is country position on nuclear weapons in Iran?
- Country position on nuclear weapons in Iran was 2 in 2023, according to Bleek (2017); Nuclear Threat Initiative (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest country position on nuclear weapons recorded in Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 1989.
- What is the lowest country position on nuclear weapons recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1938.
- How does Iran rank for country position on nuclear weapons?
- Iran ranks 10th out of 246 countries with data for 2023.
- Is country position on nuclear weapons rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Iran data come from?
- The figures come from Bleek (2017); Nuclear Threat Initiative (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Country position on nuclear weapons. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Whether a country does not consider (0), considers (1), pursues (2), or possesses (3) nuclear weapons.