China Drives Global Nuclear Power Generation To A New Record

Energy China Drives Global Nuclear Power Generation To A New Record By Robert Rapier ,

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Robert Rapier is a chemical engineer covering the energy sector. Follow Author Aug 02, 2026, 09:59am EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary Global nuclear power generation reached an all-time high in 2025, totaling 2,845 terawatt-hours, a 1.3% increase. This growth was exclusively driven by China, which added over 34 terawatt-hours; without it, global output would have fallen. The United States still leads in production, but China is rapidly closing the gap, having nearly tripled its output in a decade. While France and Japan saw modest gains, Europe's generation remains below past levels. Despite the record, nuclear's share of the global energy supply slightly decreased as the overall energy market grew faster. This milestone underscores China's rapid expansion, not a broad global nuclear renaissance.

Global nuclear power generation reached an all-time high in 2025, and China supplied all of the net growth. According to the latest Statistical Review of World Energy , nuclear plants generated 2,845 terawatt-hours worldwide last year, up 30 terawatt-hours, or 1.3%, from 2024. China increased its output by more than 34 terawatt-hours, which means that without China, global nuclear generation would have declined.

Those figures capture the state of the industry better than the broad claims of a worldwide nuclear renaissance. Output is rising, but the expansion remains heavily concentrated. The United States continues to operate the world’s largest nuclear fleet, while China is rapidly closing the gap. Japan is gradually restoring generation, but much of Europe remains below the levels reached a decade ago.

The new record deserves some context. Global nuclear generation reached 2,803 terawatt-hours in 2006, so the 2025 total was only about 1.5% higher despite the passage of 19 years. Nuclear power has finally moved beyond its previous high, but this has not been a period of rapid global expansion.

More recently, output rose from 2,576 terawatt-hours in 2015 to 2,845 terawatt-hours last year. That represents growth of 10.5% over the decade, or about 1% annually. China accounted for more than the entire increase, with its nuclear generation climbing from 171 terawatt-hours in 2015 to 485 terawatt-hours in 2025. Worldwide generation rose by about 270 terawatt-hours over the same period, while China alone added nearly 314 terawatt-hours.

Remove China from the totals, and the rest of the world generated about 44 terawatt-hours less nuclear electricity in 2025 than it did a decade earlier. That does not negate the global record, but it does show how dependent the headline number has become on the growth in a single country.

The United States generated 826 terawatt-hours of nuclear electricity in 2025, representing 29% of the global total. That was more than any other country and nearly 70% more than China produced. China ranked second with 485 terawatt-hours, accounting for 17.1% of worldwide generation, while France followed with 390 terawatt-hours, or 13.7%.

Russia generated 219 terawatt-hours, South Korea produced 185 terawatt-hours, and Japan generated 94 terawatt-hours. Canada followed at nearly 85 terawatt-hours. Together, these countries account for the vast majority of global nuclear production, reflecting the capital requirements and long development timelines that limit nuclear power to a relatively small group of nations.

The U.S. fleet remains highly productive, but output has changed little. American nuclear generation was 839 terawatt-hours in 2015, slightly higher than last year’s total. But China nearly tripled its nuclear output over the decade at an average annual growth rate of almost 11%.

The United States remains comfortably ahead, but the gap is narrowing. If recent growth rates for both countries continue, China will surpass the U.S. as the world’s top nuclear power producer in about five years.

China was responsible for most of the increase in 2025, but several other countries also reported gains. French nuclear generation rose by 9.6 terawatt-hours to 390 terawatt-hours. France has recovered from the unusually weak output recorded earlier in the decade, although generation remains about 47 terawatt-hours below its 2015 level.

Japan added another 9.2 terawatt-hours, increasing generation by 11.1% to 94 terawatt-hours. Japanese output has risen substantially from the lows that followed the Fukushima accident and the shutdown of the country’s reactor fleet, but it remains well below pre-Fukushima levels. Japan generated roughly 292 terawatt-hours of nuclear electricity in 2010, more than three times its 2025 total.

The United States added about 3.1 terawatt-hours last year, while Russia gained 2.9 terawatt-hours. Smaller increases came from South Africa, the Czech Republic, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, and Pakistan. Those gains were partially offset by declines elsewhere. Taiwan’s nuclear output fell by almost 9 terawatt-hours, Belgium lost 7.5 terawatt-hours, and the United Kingdom, Switzerland, South Korea, and Sweden also recorded notable declines.

The regional figures show how sharply the center of nuclear growth has shifted. Asia-Pacific nuclear generation rose from about 420 terawatt-hours in 2015 to nearly 845 terawatt-hours in 2025. The region more than doubled its output and now produces almost 30% of the world’s nuclear electricity.

North America remains slightly larger, generating 921 terawatt-hours last year, but that was down from 952 terawatt-hours in 2015. Europe recorded a much steeper decline, with nuclear generation falling from 968 terawatt-hours in 2015 to 759 terawatt-hours in 2025. That represents a drop of nearly 22%.

The comparison between developed and developing economies is equally s...