Text Only | Disarmament Diplomacy | Disarmament Documentation | ACRONYM Reports
back to the acronym home page
Calendar
UN/CD
NPT/IAEA
UK
NATO
US
Space/BMD
CTBT
BWC
CWC
WMD Possessors
About Acronym
Links
Glossary

ACRONYM Reports

A Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Signed but not Sealed

ACRONYM Report No.10, May 1997

Appendix 2:
The Age of Testing 1945 - 1996

Appendix II:The Age of Testing 1945 - 1996

Estimated number of nuclear explosions, 16 July 1945 - 24 Sept 1996
Taken from Table 14A.2. pp 658-660 SIPRI Yearbook 1996 Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, Oxford University Press 1996, updated.

a= atmospheric: u = underground

USAa USSR/Russia UKa France China India
a u a u a u a u a u a u

Total
1945 3 - - - - - - - - - - - 3
1946 2b - - - - - - - - - - - 2
1947 - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1948 3 - - - - - - - - - - - 3
1949 - - 1 - - - - - - - - - 1
1950 - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1951 15 1 2 - - - - - - - - - 18
1952 10 - - - 1 - - - - - - - 11
1953 11 - 5 - 2 - - - - - - - 18
1954 6 - 10 - - - - - - - - - 16
1955 17b 1 6b - - - - - - - - - 24
1956 18 - 9 - 6 - - - - - - - 33
1957 27 5 16b - 7 - - - - - - - 55
1958 62c 15 34 - 5 - - - - - - - 116
1959 - - - - - - - - - - - - -d
1960 - - - - - - 3 - - - - - 3d
1961 - 10 58b 1 - - 1 1 - - - - 71d
1962 39b 57 78 1 - 2 - 1 - - - - 178
1963e 4 43 - - - - - 3 - - - - 50
1964 - 45 - 9 - 2 - 3 1 - - - 60
1965 - 38 - 14 - 1 - 4 1 - - - 58
1966 - 48 - 18 - - 6 1 3 - - - 76
1967 - 42 - 17 - - 3 - 2 - - - 64
1968 - 56f - 17 - - 5 - 1 - - - 79
1969 - 46 - 19 - - - - 1 1 - - 67
1970 - 39 - 16 - - 8 - 1 - - - 64
1971 - 24 - 23 - - 5 - 1 - - - 53
1972 - 27 - 24 - - 4 - 2 - - - 57
1973 - 24g - 17 - - 6 1 - - - 48
1974 - 22 - 21 - 1 9 - 1 - - 1 55
1975 - 22 - 19 - - - 2 - 1 - - 44
1976 - 20 - 21 - 1 - 5 3 1 - - 51
1977 - 20 - 24 - - - 9 1 - - - 54
1978 - 19 - 31 - 2 - 11 2 1 - - 66
1979 - 15 - 31 - 1 - 10 1 - - - 58
1980 - 14 - 24 - 3 - 12 1 - - - 54
1981 - 16 - 21 - 1 - 12 - - - - 50
1982 - 18 - 19 - 1 - 10 - 1 - - 49
1983 - 18 - 25 - 1 - 9 - 2 - - 55
1984 - 18 - 27 - 2 - 8 - 2 - - 57
1985 - 17 - 10 - 1 - 8 - - - - 36h
1986 - 14 - - - 1 - 8 - - - - 23h
1987 - 14 - 23 - 1 - 8 - 1 - - 47h
1988 15 - 16 - - - 8 - 1 - - 40
1989 - 11 - 7 - 1 - 9 - - - - 28
1990 - 8 - 1 - 1 - 6 - 2 - - 18
1991 - 7 - - - 1 - 6 - - - - 14
1992 - 6 - - - - - - - 2 - - 8i
1993 - - - - - - - - - 1 - - 1i
1994 - - - - - - - - - 2 - - 2i
1995 - - - - - - - 5 - 2 - - 7i
1996 - - - - - - - 1 - 2 - - 3
sub t. 217 815 219 496 21 24 50 160 23 22 1
Total 1032 715 45 210 45 1 2048

a All British tests from 1962 have been conducted jointly with the USA at the Nevada Test Site, so the number of US tests is actually higher than indicated here. Britain observed a unilateral moratorium on testing in 1965-74.

b One of these tests was carried out under water.

c Two of these tests were carried out under water.

d The UK, the USA and the USSR observed a moratorium on testing in the period Nov. 1958 - Sept. 1961.

e On 5 Aug. 1963 the USA, the USSR and the UK signed the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT), prohibiting nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water.

f Five devices used simultaneously in the same explosion (a peaceful nuclear explosion, PNE, to develop peaceful uses for atomic energy) are counted here as one explosion.

g Three devices used simultaneously in the same explosion (a peaceful nuclear explosion, PNE, to develop peaceful uses for atomic energy) are counted here as one explosion.

h The USSR observed a unilateral moratorium on testing in the period Aug. 1985 - Feb. 1987.

i The USSR has observed a moratorium on testing from Oct. 1991 and the USA since Oct. 1992; France observed a moratorium from Apr. 1992 until the president announced in June 1995 that a new series of tests would be started.

© 1997 The Acronym Institute.