The world's nuclear fleet in 1981
In 1981, 260 nuclear reactors were operating in 24 countries, 150.2 GWe net, with 190 under construction. 6 of those units are not included in the net capacity because no net figure has been published for them.
Compared with 1980, the operating fleet grew by 23 reactors. 23 reactors were connected to the grid that year, 20,928 MWe, mostly in France (8), United States (4) and Japan (2). 2 units were permanently shut down, 126 MWe. Slovenia connected its first nuclear reactor in 1981. The countries with the most operating capacity were United States (58,684 MWe), France (19,590 MWe) and Japan (14,957 MWe).
← Previous year, 1980 · Next year, 1982 → · See this year on the map · Today's rankings
Connected to the grid in 1981
| Unit | Country | Type | Model | MWe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blayais 1 |  France | PWR | Framatome CP1 (CP1) | 910 |
| Dampierre 3 | France | PWR | Framatome CP1 (CP1) | 890 |
| Dampierre 4 | France | PWR | Framatome CP1 (CP1) | 890 |
| Gravelines 4 | France | PWR | Framatome CP1 (CP1) | 910 |
| Saint-Laurent B-1 | France | PWR | CP2 | 915 |
| Saint-Laurent B-2 | France | PWR | CP2 | 915 |
| Tricastin 3 | France | PWR | Framatome CP1 (CP1) | 915 |
| Tricastin 4 | France | PWR | Framatome CP1 (CP1) | 915 |
| Grafenrheinfeld |  Germany | PWR | Siemens-KWU (KWU) | 1,275 |
| Fukushima Daini 1 |  Japan | BWR | BWR-5 | 1,067 |
| Ikata 2 | Japan | PWR | Mitsubishi 2-loop (M 2LP) | 538 |
| Kola 1-3 |  Russia | PWR | VVER-440 (V-213) | 411 |
| Leningrad 1-4 | Russia | LWGR | RBMK-1000 | 925 |
| Krško 1 |  Slovenia | PWR | Westinghouse 2-loop (WH 2LP) | 696 |
| Almaraz 1 |  Spain | PWR | Westinghouse 3-loop (WH 3LP) | 1,011 |
| Forsmark 2 |  Sweden | BWR | ASEA-Atom BWR, generation III (AA-III) | 1,121 |
| Kuosheng 1 |  Taiwan | BWR | BWR-6 | 985 |
| Chernobyl 3 |  Ukraine | LWGR | RBMK-1000 (RBMK) | 925 |
| Rivne 2 | Ukraine | PWR | VVER-440 (V-213) | 376 |
| Joseph M Farley 2 |  United States | PWR | Westinghouse 3-loop (WH 3LP) | 883 |
| McGuire 1 | United States | PWR | Westinghouse 4-loop (WH 4LP) | 1,158 |
| Salem 2 | United States | PWR | Westinghouse 4-loop (WH 4LP) | 1,158 |
| Sequoyah 2 | United States | PWR | Westinghouse 4-loop (WH 4LP) | 1,139 |
Shut down in 1981
| Unit | Country | Type | Model | MWe | Grid connection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beloyarsk 1 | Russia | LWGR | AMB-100 | 102 | 1964 |
| Windscale AGR |  United Kingdom | GCR | AGR | 24 | 1963 |
Countries by operating capacity in 1981
| # | Country | Reactors | MWe | Under construction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 73 | 58,684 | 47 |
| 2 | France | 28 | 19,590 | 29 |
| 3 | Japan | 23 | 14,957 | 11 |
| 4 | Germany | 19 | 10,487 | 10 |
| 5 | Russia | 25 | 9,380 | 10 |
| 6 | Sweden | 9 | 7,350 | 3 |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 32 | 6,634 | 10 |
| 8 |  Canada | 10 | 5,498 | 11 |
| 9 | Taiwan | 3 | 2,193 | 3 |
| 10 |  Switzerland | 4 | 2,113 | 1 |
| 11 | Ukraine | 3 | 2,046 | 9 |
| 12 |  Finland | 3 | 1,904 | 1 |
| 13 |  Belgium | 4 | 1,862 | 4 |
| 14 |  Italy | 4 | 1,423 | — |
| 15 |  Bulgaria | 3 | 1,224 | 2 |
| 16 | Spain | 3 | 1,067 | 7 |
| 17 |  Slovakia | 2 | 816 | 2 |
| 18 |  Armenia | 2 | 792 | — |
| 19 |  India | 4 | 621 | 4 |
| 20 |  South Korea | 1 | 576 | 6 |
| 21 |  Netherlands | 2 | 537 | — |
| 22 |  Argentina | 1 | 335 | 2 |
| 23 |  Pakistan | 1 | 90 | — |
| 24 |  Kazakhstan | 1 | 52 | — |
| 25 |  Brazil | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 26 |  Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 27 |  Hungary | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 28 |  Iran | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 |  Lithuania | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 30 |  Mexico | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 31 |  Philippines | 0 | 0 | — |
| 32 | Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 |  South Africa | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Data: Global Energy Monitor (CC BY 4.0), IAEA PRIS 2025, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons. Capacities in net MWe unless stated.