Stat Pack: Global Nuclear Build and Electrical Generation

Currently, there are 440 operating nuclear power plants in 30 countries, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The United States makes up almost a quarter of the number of plants existing in the world today (103).

24 reactors are under construction with 8 being built in India, 4 in Russia, 3 in Japan, 2 in China, 2 in Ukraine, 2 in Taiwan and one each in Argentina, Iran and Romania. The World Nuclear Association reports that 45 reactors are currently in the planning stages, with the majority of these in Japan, South Korea and China.

In 2004, nuclear supplied France with 78% of their electricity generation. Lithuania came in 2nd with 72%, Slovakia and Belgium with 55%, Sweden with 52% and Ukraine with 51%. The US came in 18th place with 20% of its electricity coming from nuclear. Despite these figures, nuclear generation worldwide accounted for only 17% of total electricity production in 2002.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics