May 15, 2023
Number of Reactors (in ascending order)
The world nuclear fleet is getting older: Of the 437 reactors, 306 (70%) are 30 years old, or older, and 25% are over 40 years old. The average reactor can be kept in operation for 60-80 years.
According to the IEA, around 200 commercial reactors are to be shut down between 2020 and 2040.
By end of 2022, 202 commercial, experimental or prototype reactors have been retired from operation. An additional 500 research reactors, and several fuel cycle facilities have also been retired. In total, this represents almost 100 GW.
2022 Market Share by Electric Capacity
Of the total number of decommissioned reactors at the end of 2022:
- 23% were in Germany (30 power and prototype reactors, over 30 research reactors and eleven nuclear fuel cycle facilities (except interim storage facilities and repositories) have been dismantled.
- 20% US
- 17% Japan
These countries were the leaders in the reduction of nuclear fleets following the Fukushima incident and represent about 60% of the total decommissioned fleet.
Number of Reactors by Country
Main users of current nuclear reactor fleets (excluding China and Korea) were the leaders in decreasing capacities after Fukushima incident.
Almost 90% of decommissioned fleet, both by number and capacity, are the US, UK, Germany, Japan, France, Russia and Sweden.
The US has the largest number of decommissioned reactors (41) followed by the UK (36) and Japan (27). By capacity, the US led with 20 GW followed by Japan (17 GW) and the UK (8 GW).
- IAEA, 2023 (Last update on 2023-04-22), PRIS – Reactor status reports – Permanent Shutdown – By Country (iaea.org)