Global nuclear electricity generation reaches record high for second year running
Image Credit: Hinkley Point C, EDF Energy
Issued Monday 7 September 2026
Performance: Global nuclear generation reached a record 2702 TWh in 2025 and the industry maintained excellent performance with an average capacity factor of 83.7%.
Outlook: Global nuclear capacity could reach 1457 GWe by 2050, exceeding the tripling goal by more than 200 GWe.
Nuclear reactors produced more electricity than ever before in 2025, breaking the record set in 2024, according to the latest edition of the World Nuclear Outlook Report, published today by World Nuclear Association.
The Report features comprehensive analysis of reactor performance, national developments and plans, and tracking of governments' progress toward targets. The Report also includes recommendations for governments, regulators, the finance community and the nuclear industry detailing what will it take to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050, a goal endorsed by 38 countries since COP 28.
The Report projects that global nuclear capacity could reach 1457 GWe by 2050 if national targets and goals are achieved, identified projects are delivered, and the existing fleet continues to operate. While policy ambition is increasingly established, the priority is now implementation.
Commenting on the report ahead of the World Nuclear Symposium in London, Dr Sama Bilbao y León, Director General of World Nuclear Association, said: “This is an extraordinary moment for nuclear energy. Reflecting on another year of record performance, and looking ahead to a future of record ambition, governments are clear: they need much more nuclear energy to address the interconnected challenges of energy security, affordability, competitiveness and climate goals.
But ambition alone will not deliver 24/7 clean energy. That's why the Association has published recommendations that set the path towards tripling global nuclear energy capacity by 2050. We need to make full use of the existing fleet, complete reactors already under construction, capitalizing on the acquired capabilities commit to the next projects and move from individual projects to sustained programmes of deployment."
The Report includes recommendations for governments, industry, financiers and regulators; from establishing durable policy and investment frameworks, streamlining regulation and strengthening supply chains, to building the workforce, supporting proven reactor deployment and creating the programme-based delivery models needed to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050. The report also underlines that maintaining and extending the existing fleet is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to secure low-carbon electricity while new projects are developed.
The report finds that political support, institutional capacity and infrastructure readiness are improving across many countries. Nuclear development plans are also becoming more concrete as reactors move from potential to construction, reducing the gap between actual projects and government targets. However, improving project and programme readiness remains a key priority, with more than 550 GWe of the capacity required to meet published government targets yet to be represented by projects under construction, planned or proposed.
For the rest of this decade, the focus must be on turning national ambitions into credible project pipelines, supported by the institutions, investment, people and industrial capacity needed to deliver them.
Key datapoints from the report include:
- Nuclear reactors worldwide generated 2702 TWh of electricity in 2025, up 35 TWh on 2024 and setting a new annual record for global nuclear generation.
- Since 1970, nuclear generation is estimated* to have avoided 43.6 billion tonnes of CO₂ compared with gas-fired generation and 97.2 billion tonnes compared with coal-fired generation.
- In 2025, the global nuclear fleet demonstrated its high reliability with an average capacity** factor of 83.7%, continuing the trend of high capacity factors since 2000.
- National nuclear targets, identified projects and continued operation of the existing fleet would deliver approximately 1457 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2050, exceeding the tripling goal by more than 200 GWe.
- Of the projected total global nuclear capacity, 1303 GWe is in countries where nuclear reactors already operate. New entrant countries are projected to reach a combined nuclear capacity of 154 GWe by 2050.
- New capacity under construction increased to 82 GWe as eleven reactors started construction in 2025. Combined planned, proposed and potential capacity increased to 416 GWe, reducing the gap between actual projects and government targets.
- Growth in nuclear capacity to 2030 is expected to come primarily from reactors currently under construction, adding 54 GWe by 2030. A further 28 GWe of capacity now under construction is expected to enter operation by 2035.
Read the full report at world-nuclear.org/our-association/publications/global-trends-reports/world-nuclear-outlook-report
Notes for Editors
Today, nuclear energy provides about 9% of the world's electricity from about 440 nuclear reactors in 31 countries. Nuclear energy provides over 20% of the world’s low-carbon electricity and is the largest source of low-carbon power in OECD countries.
Nuclear capacity values (GWe) presented here refer to the gross capacity of a nuclear plant - the maximum electrical output generated by the nuclear plant’s generator.
*Emissions are calculated in g CO2 eq. per kWh, based on values in the United National Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Carbon Neutrality in the UNECE Region: Integrated Life-cycle Assessment of Electricity Sources (2022)
**An electricity source's capacity factor measures how much electricity it actually produces over time compared to its maximum possible output, calculated as actual generation divided by theoretical maximum generation at full capacity.