This map layer shows the current stockpiles of civil and military highly enriched uranium in kilogrmas, in five categories for the year 2018.
To be able to use uranium efficiently for nuclear weapons, its content of the fissile uranium isotope -235 must be increased by at least 85 per cent. Only then does one refer to it as weapon-grade uranium. Is the content of the fissile isotope uranium -235 higher than 20 per cent, one refers to it as highly enriched uranium (HEU).
The data situation does not allow a more detailed presentation regarding the various uses of HEU, therefore the entire stockpiles of a state, regardless whether HEU is used for weapons, to power nuclear submarines, is planned for civilian use or has been declared as surplus and will be make unusable. The data is sourced from the International Panel on Fissile Material — IPFM. These are all estimates by the IPFM experts, except data on the United States, Great Britain and France.
© picture-alliance / dpa
Illegal trade in nuclear and radiological material
Nuclear material originates from nuclear weapons, nuclear power plants and research reactors. Radiological materials are substances with a rather low radiation, used in industry and hospitals (particularly radiotherapy).
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