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Production

2021 world electricity generation by source. Total generation was 28 petawatt-hours.

Civilian nuclear power supplied 2,586 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in 2019, equivalent to about 10% of global electricity generation, and was the second largest low-carbon power source after hydroelectricity. Since electricity accounts for about 25% of world energy consumption, nuclear power's contribution to global energy was about 2.5% in 2011. This is a little more than the combined global electricity production from wind, solar, biomass and geothermal power, which together provided 2% of global final energy consumption in 2014. Nuclear power's share of global electricity production has fallen from 16.5% in 1997, in large part because the economics of nuclear power have become more difficult.

As of March 2022, there are 439 civilian fission reactors in the world, with a combined electrical capacity of 392 gigawatt (GW). There are also 56 nuclear power reactors under construction and 96 reactors planned, with a combined capacity of 62 GW and 96 GW, respectively. The United States has the largest fleet of nuclear reactors, generating over 800 TWh per year with an average capacity factor of 92%. Most reactors under construction are generation III reactors in Asia.

Regional differences in the use of nuclear power are large. The United States produces the most nuclear energy in the world, with nuclear power providing 20% of the electricity it consumes, while France produces the highest percentage of its electrical energy from nuclear reactors — 71% in 2019. In the European Union, nuclear power provides 26% of the electricity as of 2018. Nuclear power is the single largest low-carbon electricity source in the United States, and accounts for two-thirds of the European Union 's low-carbon electricity. Nuclear energy policy differs among European Union countries, and some, such as Austria, Estonia, Ireland and Italy, have no active nuclear power stations.

In addition, there were approximately 140 naval vessels using nuclear propulsion in operation, powered by about 180 reactors. These include military and some civilian ships, such as nuclear-powered icebreakers.

International research is continuing into additional uses of process heat such as hydrogen production (in support of a hydrogen economy), for desalinating sea water, and for use in district heating systems.