Recent polls on nuclear weapons, as well as polls conducted towards the end of the nineties, show strong support for negotiating a Nuclear Weapons Convention.

Download the Nuclear Free Majority Poster here (pdf).

Public around the world favours international agreement to eliminate all nuclear weapons

Nuclear and non-nuclear countries support plan for abolishing nuclear weapons

Dec 12, 2008

A poll of 21 nations from around the world finds that people in all countries favour an international agreement for eliminating all nuclear weapons.

Respondents were asked to consider an agreement that specified "all countries with nuclear weapons would be required to eliminate them according to a timetable" while "all other countries would be required not to develop them." Respondents were also told all countries, including their own, "would be monitored to make sure they are following the agreement."

In 20 of the 21 nations, large majorities ranging from 62 to 93 percent favour such an agreement. The only exception is Pakistan, where a plurality (46%) favours the plan while 41% are opposed.

On average across all countries, 76% favour such an agreement, with 50% favouring it strongly. 16% are opposed, with just 7% opposing strongly.

In the five nations with large nuclear arsenals and advanced delivery systems, large majorities favour the plan for totally eliminating nuclear weapons according to a timeline - the United States (77%), Russia (69%), China (83%), France (86%), and Great Britain (81%).

The idea of pursuing the elimination of nuclear weapons has gained increased visibility since a bipartisan group of four former US senior officials, George Schultz, Henry Kissinger, William Perry, and Sam Nunn, published an influential article in 2007 titled "A World Free of Nuclear Weapons" endorsing the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons.

The poll of 19,142 respondents across 21 nations was conducted between January 10 and August 29, 2008 by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a collaborative research project involving research centres from around the world and managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland. Margins of error range from +/- 2 to 4 percentage points.

The study included all nations with nuclear weapons (except North Korea) and the following non-nuclear nations: Argentina, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, the Palestinian Territories, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, and Ukraine.

Canadians favour nuclear weapons abolition

5 February, 2008

A poll conducted by CBC shows that when it comes to nuclear weapons, 88% of Canadians believe they make the world a more dangerous place, while just 6% believe they make it safer.

Additionally, 73% support the elimination of all nuclear weapons in the world through an enforceable agreement.

Americans and Russians favour nuclear weapons abolition

5 November, 2007

73% of Americans and 63% of Russians polled favour "all countries agreeing to eliminate all of their nuclear weapons assuming that there is a well-established international system for verifying that countries are complying".

Additionally, "79% of Americans and 66% of Russians want their governments to do more to pursue this objective".
- public opinion study "Americans and Russians on Nuclear Weapons and the Future of Disarmament" (John Steinbruner & Nancy Gallagher) published in Arms Control Today, Jan/Feb 2008.

Report: Global citizens would eliminate nuclear weapons

Angus Reid Global Monitor: Polls & Research

5 October, 2007

Between July 26 and Aug 8, 2007, 1,000 adults each from nuclear weapons countries Britain, France and the USA, as well as Israel (yet to openly discuss its nuclear capability) and NATO states Italy and Germany, were asked: Do you support or oppose eliminating all nuclear weapons in the world through an enforceable agreement?

Results show that a large majority of adults in six nations believe nuclear arms should be banned.

95.4% of respondents in Germany and 94.6% of respondents in Italy support eliminating all nuclear weapons in the world through an enforceable agreement.

France is next on the list with 86.6%, followed by Britain (84.5%), Israel (78%), and the United States (73.5%).

Download The Simons Foundation, “Global Public Opinion on Nuclear Weapons,” Vancouver, Canada, September 2007 here (pdf).

Other recent polls

69% of Europeans polled in France, Italy, Germany, Belgium Turkey and the UK want Europe to be nuclear free (StratCom for Greenpeace International, March 2006).

64% of those polled in the UK by YouGov in January 2007 agreed that "International Conventions are in force banning chemical and biological weapons. The UK government should support a similar convention to ban nuclear weapons."

Polls from the 1990's

87% of those polled in the US agreed “the US should negotiate an agreement to eliminate nuclear weapons.” (Lake, Sosin and Snell, 1997)

87% of those polled in Britain agreed, “Britain should help to negotiate a global treaty to prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons.” (Gallup, 1997)

61% of Russians polled said “All nuclear weapons states should eliminate such weapons.” (Vox Populi commissioned by TASS, 1998)

62% of Indians polled said “India should not produce nuclear bombs.” (The Hindu,1998)

78% of Japanese polled agreed that, “all nuclear weapons states should eliminate such weapons.” (Asahi Shimbun, 1998)

92% of Australians polled agreed “Australia should help negotiate a global treaty to ban and destroy all nuclear weapons.” (Roy Morgan Research Co., 1998)

92% of Norwegians polled agreed “Norway should work actively for a ban on nuclear weapons." (4 fakta A/S, 1998)

72% of Belgian polled said they were for “an initiative on behalf of Belgium with an aim of initiating talks concerning a treaty for the abolition of nuclear weapons.” (Market Response, 1998)

93% of Canadians polled agreed that “Canada should take a leadership role in global negotiations to eliminate nuclear weapons.” (Angus Reid Group, 1998)