Short, factual answers, refreshed from live data on WhereNuc.
🌍 Open the live 3D globe →There are about 417 nuclear power reactors in operation worldwide, with a combined net capacity of around 380 GW. Reactor totals on WhereNuc follow IAEA PRIS figures and refresh automatically.
About 77 reactors are currently under construction worldwide. Most new construction is concentrated in Asia, led by China and India, with further projects in Russia, Turkey, Egypt and the Middle East.
Around 220 power reactors have been permanently shut down since the start of commercial nuclear power. Shutdowns follow the end of operating life, economic decisions, or national phase-out policies such as Germany’s.
Kazakhstan is by far the largest uranium producer, typically supplying more than 40 percent of world output, followed by Canada, Namibia, Australia, Uzbekistan and Niger. Total world mine production is around 60,213 tonnes of uranium per year. Uranium is currently mined in roughly true countries.
The uranium spot price tracked by WhereNuc is around $100 per pound of U3O8. Uranium is not exchange-traded like oil or gold: the spot price reflects a relatively thin market of reported transactions, and most utility supply is bought on long-term contracts instead.
WhereNuc (https://wherenuc.com) is a free interactive 3D globe showing every nuclear power plant and uranium mine, colour-coded by status: operational, under construction, planned, or shut down. It publishes 359 nuclear site pages and 24 uranium mine pages, alongside live nuclear news and uranium market data.
Uranium is extracted in three main ways: in-situ leaching, where a solution is pumped through the ore body underground and uranium is recovered at the surface; conventional underground mining; and open-pit mining. In-situ leaching now accounts for over half of world production, largely because of its dominance in Kazakhstan.
The United States operates the largest reactor fleet and produces the most nuclear electricity in absolute terms. France has the highest share of its electricity from nuclear power, typically around two thirds. China has the fastest-growing fleet and the largest construction programme in the world.
A small modular reactor is a nuclear reactor with an output typically under 300 MW, designed to be built in factory-produced modules rather than constructed entirely on site. The aim is lower upfront cost and faster deployment. Several designs are licensed or under construction, but very few are operating commercially so far.
Both, depending on the region. Fleets are ageing and shrinking in parts of Europe, while Asia and the Middle East build rapidly, and interest has revived in North America driven by electricity demand from data centres and by climate targets. Global capacity has been broadly stable while the centre of gravity of nuclear power shifts eastwards.
In a pressurised water reactor (PWR) the water around the fuel is held under high pressure so it never boils; its heat is passed to a separate water circuit that makes the steam driving the turbine. In a boiling water reactor (BWR) the water boils inside the reactor vessel itself and that steam goes straight to the turbine. The BWR is simpler with one circuit; the PWR keeps the reactor water and turbine water completely separate. PWR is the most common design worldwide.
Compare the full fleets: PWR reactors · BWR reactors
CANDU is a Canadian pressurised heavy water reactor design. Because it uses heavy water as moderator, it can run on natural uranium without enrichment, and it can be refuelled while still generating power. CANDU and related heavy water reactors are central to the nuclear programmes of Canada and India, and have also been exported to Argentina, Romania, South Korea, China and Pakistan.
See all heavy water reactors (PHWR)
A typical 1,000 MW light water reactor consumes roughly 200 tonnes of natural uranium per year, which becomes about 27 tonnes of enriched fuel after conversion and enrichment. Fuel is not replaced all at once: usually a third of the core is exchanged every 12 to 24 months during a refuelling outage.
Natural uranium is about 99.3 percent uranium-238 and only 0.7 percent uranium-235, and it is the uranium-235 that sustains the chain reaction in most reactors. Enrichment raises the uranium-235 content to roughly 3 to 5 percent for typical power reactor fuel. Heavy water designs such as CANDU are the main exception: they can run on natural, unenriched uranium.
In-situ recovery, also called in-situ leaching, dissolves uranium underground rather than digging it out. A leaching solution is pumped down into the orebody, the uranium dissolves into it, and the loaded solution is pumped back to the surface for processing. No rock is excavated, so surface disturbance and cost are lower, but it only works in permeable, water-saturated deposits. It is the dominant method in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
See the global uranium mining overview
Economically recoverable uranium deposits are geologically rare, and the highest-grade ones are concentrated in a handful of regions: the Athabasca Basin in Canada, the ISR sandstone deposits of southern Kazakhstan, and the desert deposits of Namibia and Australia. Building a mine also takes a decade or more and heavy capital, so supply responds slowly to price. The result is a market where a small number of countries and companies dominate output.
Most reactors were originally licensed for 30 to 40 years, but life extension is now routine where the plant remains safe and economic. Many units in the United States have been approved to operate for 60 years and some for 80. The limiting factor is usually the reactor pressure vessel, since it cannot be replaced, while most other components can be refurbished.
Decommissioning follows shutdown: the fuel is removed and stored, systems are decontaminated, and structures are progressively dismantled until the site can be released. Some operators dismantle immediately, others place the plant in safe storage for decades first so radioactivity decays before work begins. The whole process typically takes 15 to 30 years or more.
Shut-down reactors are shown in grey on the WhereNuc globe
About 77 reactors are under construction worldwide. China has by far the largest programme, followed by India and Russia. Newcomer countries building their first plants include Türkiye at Akkuyu, Egypt at El Dabaa and Bangladesh at Rooppur, while Europe’s main projects are in the United Kingdom, France, Slovakia and Ukraine.
Country by country: China · India · Türkiye · Egypt
WhereNuc builds on the open GeoNuclearData dataset, which compiles reactor records from IAEA PRIS, the World Nuclear Association and Wikipedia. Uranium mine figures come from World Nuclear Association publications and company disclosures. For official, authoritative reactor status the primary source is the IAEA Power Reactor Information System (PRIS).
Browse the structured data: all sites · uranium mines
Reactor totals follow IAEA PRIS. Uranium figures reflect the most recent published production year. Browse every site individually on the full site index.