Ranked: Which Countries Shut Down the Most Nuclear Power?

Ranked: Which Countries Shut Down the Most Nuclear Power?

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Nuclear is on the brink of a golden era but, globally, 136,823 megawatts of nuclear power has been shut down across 250 plants.

Electrification, the build up of domestic manufacturing, and artificial intelligence has led to increased energy demand. Politicians and AI leaders have turned to nuclear, considered limitless low-carbon energy, as a solution.

However, sentiment on the energy source is mixed thanks to radioactive waste, large-scale disasters, and its association with nuclear weapons.

This graphic, based on data from Global Energy Monitor, visualizes shutdown nuclear power capacity by country from 1957 to 2025 and includes the number of shuttered sites.

The Countries That Have Shut Down the Most Nuclear Power

The data includes capacity retired at the end of its lifespan and mothballed earlier. Dive into it below:

Rank	Country/Area	Units	Capacity (MW)
1	Japan	44	35,284
2	Germany	36	27,862
3	United States	47	23,311
4	United Kingdom	36	9,163
5	France	15	6,087
6	Russia	16	5,879
7	Taiwan	6	5,144
8	Sweden	7	4,268
9	Ukraine	4	3,800
10	Lithuania	2	2,600
11	Canada	6	2,268
12	Belgium	3	2,123
13	Bulgaria	4	1,760
14	Italy	4	1,472
15	South Korea	2	1,290
16	Spain	3	1,116
17	Slovakia	3	1,023
18	India	4	640
19	Philippines	1	621
20	Armenia	1	408
21	Switzerland	2	397
22	Pakistan	1	100
23	Kazakhstan	1	90
24	Netherlands	1	60
25	Argentina	1	29
26	Puerto Rico	1	18
27	Panama	1	10

Japan, where the devastating Fukushima disaster occurred, shut down the most capacity at 35,284 megawatts over 44 facilities. The country temporarily suspended most of its nuclear plants after the 2011 accident, and only some have been brought back online.

Nuclear power made up 29.5% of Germany’s electricity supply at its peak, but it has since closed all of its reactors, totaling 36 units and 27,862 megawatts. The decision to do so was made in the wake of Fukushima but the last reactor went offline just last year.

The U.S. comes in third place for the number of megawatts ceased, at 23,311, but has actually shut down the highest number of facilities.

Nuclear power in Ukraine has garnered its fair share of attention as Russia’s invasion threatened the stability of its Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe with a capacity of 6,000 megawatts. Russia seized the plant in 2022 and remains in control.

Ukraine has shut down just four plants, totaling 3,800 megawatts. Global Energy Monitor’s data doesn’t specify the names of plants, but the former Soviet Union member is home to the Chernobyl facility that melted down in 1986. The plant had a normal operating capacity of 1,000 megawatts.

Notably, China has not shut down any nuclear projects. The country is pursuing an ambitious target to have 150 gigawatts (or 150,000 megawatts) of nuclear energy capacity by 2035 as it looks to diversify its energy sources.

Nuclear is Being Brought Back Online

Despite decades of reactor closures, nuclear power is gaining renewed attention as global electricity demand rises. Growth in AI, electrification, and manufacturing is prompting countries to reconsider nuclear as a dependable, low-carbon energy source.

In some cases, previously retired facilities are even being brought back online. The Three Mile Island site in the U.S., known for the 1979 partial meltdown, is now set to help power Microsoft data centers.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about global energy systems, check out this graphic which charts where energy transition spending by country.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-which-countries-shut-down-the-most-nuclear-power/