Global nuclear power generation reached a record 2,703 terawatt-hours in 2025, but the increase was driven entirely by China, where output rose 7.6%, while generation in the rest of the world declined 0.2%, according to the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2026.
Nuclear plants generated 2,703 TWh of net electricity last year, up 1.1% from 2024, the report said.
China's nuclear generation increased 7.6%, while output in the rest of the world fell 0.2%, it added.
Despite the record output, nuclear power's share of global electricity generation declined to 8.8% from 9% in 2024, according to the report.
Speaking at the launch event in Istanbul, Mycle Schneider, a Paris-based independent analyst and the report's coordinator and publisher, said the global figures needed to be examined alongside China's contribution.
"China dominates the statistics over the past 15-20 years," Schneider said.
He said successive production records in 2024 and 2025 were only slightly above the previous peak in 2006.
According to the report, global output in 2025 exceeded the 2006 record by 40 terawatt-hours, or about 1.5%.
Outside China, production remained 369 terawatt-hours, or 14%, below its 2006 level.
- China accounts for more than half of reactor startups in 2006-2025
China's role was also evident in the balance between new reactors and closures.
Worldwide, 104 reactors were connected to the grid for the first time between 2006 and 2025, while 106 closed, according to the report.
China accounted for 53 of those startups and had no closures, leaving the rest of the world with 55 more closures than startups.
The decline in reactor numbers did not translate into a decline in global capacity over that period.
Because the new reactors were larger than those that closed, worldwide nuclear capacity increased by a net 21.5 gigawatts over the period, the report said.
In 2025 alone, four reactors started up and seven closed. Two of the new reactors were in China, with one each in India and Russia. Belgium and Russia each closed three reactors, while Taiwan closed one.
By Handan Kazanci
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr