Current Status

In 2001 a total of 435 nuclear plants operated worldwide. Another 35 reactors were under construction. Eighteen countries generate at least 20 percent of their electricity from nuclear power.

The largest nuclear power industries are located in the United States (104 reactors).

France (59)
Japan (52)
Britain (35)
Russia (29)
Germany (19)

In the United States, no new reactors have been ordered for more than 20 years. Public opposition, high construction costs, strict building and operating regulations, and high costs for waste disposal make nuclear power plants much more expensive to build and operate than plants that burn fossil fuels.

In some industrialized countries, the electric power industry is being restructured to break up monopolies (the provision of a commodity or service by a single seller or producer) at the generation level.

Because this trend is pressuring nuclear plant owners to cut operating expenses and become more competitive, the nuclear power industry in the United States and other western countries may continue to decline if existing nuclear power plants are unable to adapt to changing market conditions.

Asia is widely viewed as the only likely growth area for nuclear power in the near future. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China all had plants under construction at the end of the 20th century. Conversely, a number of European nations were rethinking their commitments to nuclear power.

C1 Sweden
Sweden’s political parties have committed to phasing out nuclear power by 2010, after Swedish citizens voted in 1980 against future development of this energy source. However, industry is challenging the policy in court. In addition, critics argue that Sweden cannot fulfill its commitment to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases without relying on nuclear power.

C2 France
France generates about 75 percent of its electricity from nuclear power. However, it has canceled several planned reactors and may replace aging nuclear plants with fossil-fuel plants for environmental reasons. As a result, the government-owned electricity utility, Electricité de France, plans to diversify the country’s electricity-generating sources.

C3 Germany
The German government announced in 1998 a plan to phase out nuclear power. However, as in Sweden, nuclear plant owners may take the government to court to seek compensation for plants shut down before the end of their operating lives.

C4 Japan
In Japan, several accidents at nuclear facilities in the mid-1990s have undercut public support for nuclear power. Japan’s growing stockpile of plutonium and its shipments of spent nuclear fuel to Europe have drawn international criticism.

C5 China
China, which currently operates only three nuclear power plants, has plans to expand its nuclear capabilities. However, whether China will be able to obtain sufficient financing or whether it can develop the necessary skilled work force to expand is uncertain.

C6 Eastern Europe
A number of eastern European countries—including Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, and Slovakia—generate electricity from Soviet-designed nuclear reactors that have various safety flaws. Some of these reactors have the same design as the Chernobyl reactor that exploded in 1986. The United States and other western countries are working to address these design problems and to improve operations, maintenance, and training at these plants.