The World Nuclear Association esteem that there are about 430 operational nuclear reactors worldwide. In full Era of renewables and the decarbonizationnuclear energy remains a important energy source for many countriesso much that China, India or France depend largely on it and even private companies resort to their “own” reactors to feed the glottone artificial intelligence.
And in This interactive map We can see not only what are the countries that produce more nuclear energybut how many reactors have or the participation of nuclear in its energy mix.
The US giant. The color leaves no doubt: the United States is the country that most GWH from gender nuclear energy in 2024. The estimate is 823 TWH and, although the separate data may not tell us anything, put into context represents about 30% of global nuclear energy.
It is the country with more active nuclear reactors -94- and it is estimated that the nuclear participated in just over 18% of its energy mix. It is a remarkable figure if we take into account the impulse of renewables in recent yearsas well as the Importance of gas and oil in its energy matrix. And it contrasts a lot with the 85 TWH of Canada or only 12.3 TWH of Mexico, countries with 19 and two reactors respectively.
China. The next darker color is China. Your case is curious because, if there is a Example of impulse to renewableswith immense importance of both wind as of the Photovoltaicbut also with the largest hydroelectric dam in the world (and another under construction), that is China. The 57 reactors in the country are estimated to generate about 450 TWH of electricity, placing themselves as the second power in this area.
However, unlike the United States and other countries that we will see below, although they are investigating to have more reactors (with some latest generation on the horizon), the participation of nuclear is still very low in the Asian giant. The calculation is that less than 5% of China’s energy in 2024 arrived from a nuclear reactor.
France, Top 1. The French neighbors are those who complete the podium of nuclear energy production and, if in the case of the US we talk about an important participation, in the Frenchman we have to refer to this source as fundamental. It is estimated that the nuclear generated 380.5 TWH for 2024, but the most relevant data is that 67.3% of the energy consumed by France was nuclear.
With its 57 reactors, it is the country most dependent on nuclear energy worldwide. France has made huge investments both in nuclear energy and in Nuclear weaponsbeing one of the European shields in this aspectbut perhaps more attention figures from other European countries that, with less reactors, are almost as dependent as France.
Slovakia (five reactors) with 60.6%, Belgium (five reactors) with 54.5%, Hungary (four reactors) with 47%, Bulgaria (two reactors) with 41%or Czech Republic (six reactors) with 40%also depend on nuclear energy. Another curious case is that of Slovenia, which has only one reactor and 35% of the country’s electricity depends on not failing.
Countries ordered by its dependence on nuclear energy
Blank countries. As curious as seeing what countries use and depend on the electricity generated from nuclear energy is to pass the mouse on those that are completely blank. One is Germany. If you have traveled by plane from Spain to Colonia or Berlin, you will have seen the occasional central, so it is rare to see that it does not produce electricity through nuclear.
The country had its maximum in 2006, when it generated about 170 twh that would put it together with the giants of today, but after a series of political decisions and step on the accelerator after the Fukushima’s tragic accidentGermany closed all its centrals in 2023. Another absent is Australia, where it is prohibited by law. Also Italy, which prohibited it in referendums made in 1987 and 2011.
Dynamic. However, all this can change. The use of nuclear energy remains a hot topic both for those who argue that it is a cleaner source of energy than coal or gas (which They seem to resurface strongly due to Consumption of data centers) as for the detractors who They allude to accidents and problems with Waste management.
There are political voices in ItalyAustralia, Poland or Germany that ask for a return to nuclear energy, and the truth is that there are countries that continue to investigate to expand their “arsenal” of reactors. India, South Korea, Japan or China itself have a positive trend in the use of nuclear and it is estimated that there are about 70 reactors under construction.
The interesting thing will be to take a look at this map within a few years, since among the plans for Reactivate nuclear centrals that meet the needs of the technological industry, the increase in Investment in giants such as India or China and research in SMR reactors and of nuclear fusionthe panorama can change a lot in the coming years.
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