Country position nuclear weapons in South Africa
South Africa: Country position nuclear weapons was 0 in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2023)
0
World rank
12th
of 239 countries
All-time high
3
in 1979
All-time low
0
in 1938
Years of data
86
1938–2023
Country position nuclear weapons in South Africa, 1938–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, country position nuclear weapons in South Africa stood at 0. That is the lowest value across all 86 years on record.
Over the whole period, country position nuclear weapons in South Africa peaked at 3 in 1979 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1938.
South Africa ranks 12th of 239 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.7 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 1980s | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 10 Iran, Islamic Republic of 2 compare
- 11 Syrian Arab Republic 1 compare
- 12 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Aland Islands 0 compare
- 12 Albania 0 compare
- 12 Algeria 0 compare
- 12 American Samoa 0 compare
- 12 Andorra, Principality of 0 compare
- 12 Angola 0 compare
- 12 Antigua and Barbuda 0 compare
- 12 Argentina 0 compare
- 12 Armenia, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Aruba, Kingdom of the Netherlands 0 compare
- 12 Australia 0 compare
- 12 Austria 0 compare
- 12 Azerbaijan, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Bahamas, The 0 compare
- 12 Bahrain, Kingdom of 0 compare
- 12 Bangladesh 0 compare
- 12 Barbados 0 compare
- 12 Belarus, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Belgium 0 compare
- 12 Belize 0 compare
- 12 Benin 0 compare
- 12 Bermuda 0 compare
- 12 Bhutan 0 compare
- 12 Bolivia 0 compare
- 12 Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba 0 compare
- 12 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 compare
- 12 Botswana 0 compare
- 12 Bouvet Island 0 compare
- 12 Brazil 0 compare
- 12 British Indian Ocean Territory 0 compare
- 12 British Virgin Islands 0 compare
- 12 Brunei Darussalam 0 compare
- 12 Bulgaria 0 compare
- 12 Burkina Faso 0 compare
- 12 Burundi 0 compare
- 12 Cambodia 0 compare
- 12 Cameroon 0 compare
- 12 Canada 0 compare
- 12 Cabo Verde 0 compare
- 12 Cayman Islands 0 compare
- 12 Central African Republic 0 compare
- 12 Chad 0 compare
- 12 Chile 0 compare
- 12 Christmas Island 0 compare
- 12 Cocos Islands 0 compare
- 12 Colombia 0 compare
- 12 Comoros, Union of the 0 compare
- 12 Congo, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Costa Rica 0 compare
- 12 Côte d'Ivoire 0 compare
- 12 Croatia, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Cuba 0 compare
- 12 Curaçao, Kingdom of the Netherlands 0 compare
- 12 Cyprus 0 compare
- 12 Czech Republic 0 compare
- 12 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 0 compare
- 12 Denmark 0 compare
- 12 Djibouti 0 compare
- 12 Dominica 0 compare
- 12 Dominican Republic 0 compare
- 12 Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Ecuador 0 compare
- 12 Egypt, Arab Republic of 0 compare
- 12 El Salvador 0 compare
- 12 Equatorial Guinea, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Eritrea, The State of 0 compare
- 12 Estonia, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Eswatini, Kingdom of 0 compare
- 12 Ethiopia, The Federal Democratic Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Falkland Islands (Malvinas) 0 compare
- 12 Faroe Islands 0 compare
- 12 Fiji, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Finland 0 compare
- 12 French Guiana 0 compare
- 12 French Polynesia 0 compare
- 12 French Southern Territories 0 compare
- 12 Gabon 0 compare
- 12 Gambia, The 0 compare
- 12 Georgia 0 compare
- 12 Germany 0 compare
- 12 Ghana 0 compare
- 12 Gibraltar 0 compare
- 12 Greece 0 compare
- 12 Greenland 0 compare
- 12 Grenada 0 compare
- 12 Guadeloupe 0 compare
- 12 Guam 0 compare
- 12 Guatemala 0 compare
- 12 Guernsey 0 compare
- 12 Guinea 0 compare
- 12 Guinea-Bissau 0 compare
- 12 Guyana 0 compare
- 12 Haiti 0 compare
- 12 Heard Island and McDonald Islands 0 compare
- 12 Honduras 0 compare
- 12 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China 0 compare
- 12 Hungary 0 compare
- 12 Iceland 0 compare
- 12 Indonesia 0 compare
- 12 Iraq 0 compare
- 12 Ireland 0 compare
- 12 Isle of Man 0 compare
- 12 Italy 0 compare
- 12 Jamaica 0 compare
- 12 Japan 0 compare
- 12 Jersey 0 compare
- 12 Jordan 0 compare
- 12 Kazakhstan, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Kenya 0 compare
- 12 Kiribati 0 compare
- 12 Kuwait 0 compare
- 12 Kyrgyz Republic 0 compare
- 12 Lao People's Democratic Republic 0 compare
- 12 Latvia 0 compare
- 12 Lebanon 0 compare
- 12 Lesotho, Kingdom of 0 compare
- 12 Liberia 0 compare
- 12 Libya 0 compare
- 12 Liechtenstein, Principality of 0 compare
- 12 Lithuania 0 compare
- 12 Luxembourg 0 compare
- 12 Macao Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China 0 compare
- 12 Madagascar, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Malawi 0 compare
- 12 Malaysia 0 compare
- 12 Maldives 0 compare
- 12 Mali 0 compare
- 12 Malta 0 compare
- 12 Marshall Islands, Republic of the 0 compare
- 12 Martinique 0 compare
- 12 Mauritania, Islamic Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Mauritius 0 compare
- 12 Mexico 0 compare
- 12 Micronesia, Federated States of 0 compare
- 12 Moldova, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Monaco 0 compare
- 12 Mongolia 0 compare
- 12 Montenegro 0 compare
- 12 Morocco 0 compare
- 12 Mozambique, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Myanmar 0 compare
- 12 Namibia 0 compare
- 12 Naoero, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Nepal 0 compare
- 12 Netherlands 0 compare
- 12 New Caledonia 0 compare
- 12 New Zealand 0 compare
- 12 Nicaragua 0 compare
- 12 Niger 0 compare
- 12 Nigeria 0 compare
- 12 Norfolk Island 0 compare
- 12 North Macedonia, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Northern Mariana Islands 0 compare
- 12 Norway 0 compare
- 12 Oman 0 compare
- 12 Palau, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Palestine 0 compare
- 12 Panama 0 compare
- 12 Papua New Guinea 0 compare
- 12 Paraguay 0 compare
- 12 Peru 0 compare
- 12 Philippines 0 compare
- 12 Pitcairn Islands 0 compare
- 12 Poland 0 compare
- 12 Portugal 0 compare
- 12 Puerto Rico 0 compare
- 12 Qatar 0 compare
- 12 Réunion 0 compare
- 12 Romania 0 compare
- 12 Rwanda 0 compare
- 12 Saint Barthelemy 0 compare
- 12 St. Kitts and Nevis 0 compare
- 12 St. Lucia 0 compare
- 12 Saint Martin 0 compare
- 12 St. Pierre and Miquelon 0 compare
- 12 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 0 compare
- 12 Samoa 0 compare
- 12 San Marino, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 São Tomé and Príncipe, Democratic Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Saudi Arabia 0 compare
- 12 Senegal 0 compare
- 12 Serbia, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Seychelles 0 compare
- 12 Sierra Leone 0 compare
- 12 Singapore 0 compare
- 12 Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands 0 compare
- 12 Slovak Republic 0 compare
- 12 Slovenia, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Solomon Islands 0 compare
- 12 Somalia 0 compare
- 12 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 0 compare
- 12 Korea 0 compare
- 12 South Sudan, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Spain 0 compare
- 12 Sri Lanka 0 compare
- 12 Sudan 0 compare
- 12 Suriname 0 compare
- 12 Sweden 0 compare
- 12 Switzerland 0 compare
- 12 Taiwan Province of China 0 compare
- 12 Tajikistan, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Tanzania, United Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Thailand 0 compare
- 12 Togo 0 compare
- 12 Tonga 0 compare
- 12 Trinidad and Tobago 0 compare
- 12 Tunisia 0 compare
- 12 Türkiye, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Turkmenistan 0 compare
- 12 Turks and Caicos Islands 0 compare
- 12 Tuvalu 0 compare
- 12 Uganda 0 compare
- 12 Ukraine 0 compare
- 12 United Arab Emirates 0 compare
- 12 United States Virgin Islands 0 compare
- 12 Uruguay 0 compare
- 12 Uzbekistan, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Vanuatu 0 compare
- 12 Holy See 0 compare
- 12 Venezuela, República Bolivariana de 0 compare
- 12 Vietnam 0 compare
- 12 Wallis and Futuna Islands 0 compare
- 12 Western Sahara 0 compare
- 12 Yemen, Republic of 0 compare
- 12 Zambia 0 compare
- 12 Zimbabwe 0 compare
More energy & mining data for South Africa
- Fuel imports 17.7% (2025)
- Ores and metals imports 2.5% (2025)
- Ores and metals exports 30.3% (2025)
- Gas production 0.6284 terawatt-hours (2024)
- Fossil fuel production per person, by fuel 9.82 kilowatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fossil fuel production by fuel 0.6284 terawatt-hours (2024)
- Gas production per person 9.82 kilowatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fuel exports 8.2% (2025)
- Electric power transmission and distribution losses 10.2% (2023)
- Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs gdp per capita 56.31 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is country position nuclear weapons in South Africa?
- Country position nuclear weapons in South Africa was 0 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest country position nuclear weapons recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3 in 1979.
- What is the lowest country position nuclear weapons recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1938.
- How does South Africa rank for country position nuclear weapons?
- South Africa ranks 12th out of 239 countries with data for 2023.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Country position nuclear weapons. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 86 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).