Nuclear electricity demand is projected to grow 2–3% annually through 2030. The industry's scale is vast, with over 5,000 installations under regulatory control and a global uranium mining market valued at $8.7 billion.
Key Takeaways
- Global nuclear electricity demand growth projected at 2–3% annually through 2030 in IEA’s nuclear outlook scenarios (IEA—demand outlook)
- SMR activity: 96 SMR project announcements tracked by the IAEA as of 2023 (IAEA—SMR project count in update)
- IAEA reports 5,000+ nuclear installations worldwide under regulatory control (IAEA—nuclear applications/uses count)
- US$8.7 billion estimated global market value for uranium mining and services in 2024 (OECD/NEA market review—uranium supply chain value estimates)
- US$6.8 billion estimated global spent fuel management services market (2023/2024 estimate in industry market report by Fortune Business Insights)
- US$7.2 billion estimated global nuclear decommissioning market (2024 estimate in Fortune Business Insights decommissioning market report)
- 10-year average time from start of construction to grid connection for nuclear new builds (IAEA/NEA analysis—historical build times summary)
- US$1.6 trillion—IEA estimate of total clean energy investment needs for power sector through 2030, including nuclear (IEA World Energy Outlook—power investment)
- US$60 billion—estimated investment required for ‘advanced reactor’ demonstration projects globally by 2035 (OECD/NEA—advanced reactor deployment costs)
- 74% average capacity factor across nuclear plants in the United States over the last five years (US EIA—nuclear capacity factor series)
- 0.01 events per reactor-year for severe nuclear core damage events in the IAEA risk-informed safety trend report (IAEA—operational safety indicators)
- Nuclear electricity generation in the United States was 779.1 TWh in 2023 (EIA—annual net generation by source)
- Fuel cycle cost for nuclear electricity is typically ~30–40% of total levelized generation cost (OECD/NEA—nuclear fuel cycle cost breakdown)
- In IEA’s 2020 benchmark, nuclear levelized cost of electricity is estimated at about US$50–90/MWh depending on financing and technology (IEA—LCOE ranges)
- In the US, nuclear plants’ fuel expense represented about 13% of total operating costs in 2022 (EIA—company operating cost structure, nuclear)
Nuclear demand is set to grow through 2030, with major investment needs spanning fuels, reactors, and decommissioning.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends7 stats
01
Global nuclear electricity demand growth projected at 2–3% annually through 2030 in IEA’s nuclear outlook scenarios (IEA—demand outlook)
02
SMR activity: 96 SMR project announcements tracked by the IAEA as of 2023 (IAEA—SMR project count in update)
03
IAEA reports 5,000+ nuclear installations worldwide under regulatory control (IAEA—nuclear applications/uses count)
04
The IAEA’s Incident Reporting System recorded 0 Level 5 or above events during 2022 (IAEA—INES event reporting for year)
05
WANO reports a global average performance improvement rate: 1,200+ KPIs monitored across plants per year (WANO—performance indicators program)
06
Nuclear’s share in low-carbon generation in OECD countries was 30% in 2022 (IEA—low carbon electricity breakdown)
07
Nuclear workforce: 2022 US nuclear utility employment was 48,000 direct workers (EIA/NEI—workforce statistics compilation)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
For the Industry Trends angle, nuclear power is showing steady momentum with projected 2 to 3 percent annual global electricity demand growth through 2030, backed by 96 SMR announcements tracked by the IAEA and a still sizable 30 percent share of low carbon generation in OECD countries in 2022.
02 · Category
Market Size6 stats
01
US$8.7 billion estimated global market value for uranium mining and services in 2024 (OECD/NEA market review—uranium supply chain value estimates)
02
US$6.8 billion estimated global spent fuel management services market (2023/2024 estimate in industry market report by Fortune Business Insights)
03
US$7.2 billion estimated global nuclear decommissioning market (2024 estimate in Fortune Business Insights decommissioning market report)
04
US$3.1 billion estimated global nuclear power plant construction market size in 2023 (Frost & Sullivan—APAC/Global analysis cited by industry press)
05
US$2.8 billion annual global market for nuclear instrumentation and control systems (Nucleonics/industry buyers’ guide summary based on published market studies)
06
US$1.1 billion annual global market for nuclear valves (Straits Research published valuation and forecast)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The market size picture for nuclear is broad but fragmented, with annual and segment totals ranging from US$1.1 billion for nuclear valves to US$8.7 billion for uranium mining and services in 2024, showing how value is spread across multiple parts of the supply chain rather than concentrated in a single segment.
03 · Category
Project Pipeline3 stats
01
10-year average time from start of construction to grid connection for nuclear new builds (IAEA/NEA analysis—historical build times summary)
02
US$1.6 trillion—IEA estimate of total clean energy investment needs for power sector through 2030, including nuclear (IEA World Energy Outlook—power investment)
03
US$60 billion—estimated investment required for ‘advanced reactor’ demonstration projects globally by 2035 (OECD/NEA—advanced reactor deployment costs)
Interpretation
Project Pipeline Interpretation
From a project pipeline perspective, nuclear new builds are still taking an average of 10 years to reach grid connection, and the scale of financing implied is enormous with IEA estimating US$1.6 trillion in clean power investment needs by 2030 and OECD NEA putting advanced reactor demonstration funding at US$60 billion by 2035.
04 · Category
Performance Metrics7 stats
01
74% average capacity factor across nuclear plants in the United States over the last five years (US EIA—nuclear capacity factor series)
02
0.01 events per reactor-year for severe nuclear core damage events in the IAEA risk-informed safety trend report (IAEA—operational safety indicators)
03
Nuclear electricity generation in the United States was 779.1 TWh in 2023 (EIA—annual net generation by source)
04
Nuclear electricity generation in France was 279.1 TWh in 2023 (EDF/INSEE summary citing national grid generation; also World Nuclear Association country generation)
05
Average unplanned capacity loss due to unplanned outages in US nuclear plants was 0.9% of available capacity in 2023 (EIA/industry outage reporting consolidated)
06
About 1.0% average annual refueling outage outage length for PWRs (IAEA refueling and maintenance guidance—typical refueling interval with downtime estimates)
07
87% of nuclear operating performance parameters met or exceeded safety performance indicators in 2022 per WANO’s annual performance report (WANO—performance indicators summary)
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
From a performance standpoint, US nuclear plants have sustained strong reliability with a 74% average capacity factor over the past five years, while severe core damage remains exceptionally rare at 0.01 events per reactor-year and unplanned outages average just 0.9% of available capacity in 2023.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis7 stats
01
Fuel cycle cost for nuclear electricity is typically ~30–40% of total levelized generation cost (OECD/NEA—nuclear fuel cycle cost breakdown)
02
In IEA’s 2020 benchmark, nuclear levelized cost of electricity is estimated at about US$50–90/MWh depending on financing and technology (IEA—LCOE ranges)
03
In the US, nuclear plants’ fuel expense represented about 13% of total operating costs in 2022 (EIA—company operating cost structure, nuclear)
04
Spent fuel storage costs in the US are typically around US$1–2k per kgU (industry analysis cited by OECD/NEA—dry cask storage cost benchmarks)
05
Capital costs are the dominant driver in late-stage nuclear cost overruns: 70%+ of variance attributed to construction and financing in NREL/utility cost variance analyses (NREL—overnight/total cost variance study)
06
Construction cost escalation in nuclear projects is correlated with prolonged schedules; each 1-year delay can add ~10–15% to project cost (peer-reviewed/industry schedules-and-cost impact analysis)
07
Cost of uranium enrichment (typical SWU benchmark) averaged about US$80–100/SWU in 2023 (NEA/IAEA market reports or industry data series)
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
In cost analysis of nuclear power, the economics are heavily shaped by fuel and upfront spending, with fuel cycle costs often making up about 30 to 40% of total levelized generation cost while capital and financing account for 70% or more of cost overruns, and prolonged schedules can further raise costs by roughly 10 to 15% per additional year.
06 · Category
Industry Scale2 stats
01
32.6% of installed electricity generation capacity in France comes from nuclear (INSEE electricity mix share for 2023).
02
23.5% of total electricity generation in Sweden was nuclear in 2023 (Swedish energy data published by Energimyndigheten/SCB series).
Interpretation
Industry Scale Interpretation
On the Industry Scale, nuclear power accounts for a large share of national electricity generation, reaching 32.6% in France and 23.5% in Sweden in 2023, showing how prominently the nuclear sector contributes to overall energy supply at the country level.
More related reading
07 · Category
Market Dynamics3 stats
01
2.6% annual growth in nuclear electricity generation in the OECD between 2015 and 2022 (IEA “Nuclear Power” dataset trend).
02
US nuclear plants operated at an average capacity factor of 91.8% in 2021 (EIA annual capacity factor series).
03
3,100+ reactors’ operating years of experience accumulated in the IAEA’s updated risk-informed safety work (IAEA summary of operational experience datasets used in its safety guidance).
Interpretation
Market Dynamics Interpretation
Market dynamics in nuclear power look increasingly resilient as OECD nuclear electricity generation grew at a steady 2.6% annually from 2015 to 2022, US plants ran at an impressive 91.8% average capacity factor in 2021, and the IAEA has accumulated over 3,100 reactor-years of operational experience to support risk-informed safety work.
08 · Category
Safety & Reliability4 stats
01
1,120 reactors-years of operating experience covered in a WANO probabilistic risk-informed performance benchmarking exercise (WANO performance analysis documentation for PWR/BWR).
02
A negative net generation contribution from nuclear during the 2022 heatwave was limited to 0.9% in the EU according to Ember’s European electricity market analysis (Ember dataset).
03
Level-2 or above IAEA INES events in 2023 numbered 36 globally (IAEA reporting of INES event counts by year).
04
0 Level 5+ INES events were recorded in 2023 (IAEA INES event reporting).
Interpretation
Safety & Reliability Interpretation
For Safety and Reliability, the nuclear sector shows strong performance signals in 2023 with 36 globally reported Level 2 or above INES events but zero Level 5 or higher events, while a WANO probabilistic risk informed benchmarking exercise covered 1,120 reactor-years of operating experience and the 2022 EU heatwave impact was limited to a 0.9% negative net generation contribution.
09 · Category
Supply Chain2 stats
01
US$18.0 billion estimated global nuclear fuel market value in 2022 (NEA/OECD nuclear fuel market segmentation reported in industry analysis).
02
Global spent fuel arisings are expected to reach ~14,000 tHM per year by 2050 (OECD NEA “Waste management” projections cited in international planning documents).
Interpretation
Supply Chain Interpretation
With the global nuclear fuel market valued at about US$18.0 billion in 2022 and spent fuel arisings projected to climb to roughly 14,000 tHM per year by 2050, the supply chain challenge is set to expand from procuring fresh fuel to managing far more downstream waste.
10 · Category
Investment & Costs1 stats
01
US$33.0 billion total US nuclear power plant construction spending reported by EIA for 2020–2022 in current-dollar nuclear capital expenditure series (EIA capital expenditure table).
Interpretation
Investment & Costs Interpretation
Between 2020 and 2022, the US reported US$33.0 billion in nuclear power plant construction spending, underscoring sustained high investment levels that drive major capital costs for the sector.
11 · Category
Technology & Reactors1 stats
01
NuScale Power’s design is 77 MW(e) per module (NuScale technology overview).
Interpretation
Technology & Reactors Interpretation
NuScale Power’s Technology and Reactors approach stands out for delivering 77 MW(e) per module, underscoring the trend toward modular reactor designs sized in clear, repeatable power blocks.
report visual · Key figures
Nuclear outlook and performance signals
Demand growth outlook and recent safety/performance indicators show steady momentum alongside strong operational outcomes.
3%
Global nuclear electricity demand growth projected at 2–3% annually through 2030 in IEA’s nuclear outlook scenarios (IEA
87%
87% of nuclear operating performance parameters met or exceeded safety performance indicators in 2022 per WANO’s annual
0
The IAEA’s Incident Reporting System recorded 0 Level 5 or above events during 2022 (IAEA—INES event reporting for year)
source-verifiediea.org · wano.info · iaea.org2030
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Marie Larsen. (2026, February 13). Nuclear Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/nuclear-industry-statistics
MLA
Marie Larsen. "Nuclear Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/nuclear-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Marie Larsen. 2026. "Nuclear Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/nuclear-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
43 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+26 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)