The world's nuclear fleet in 1986
In 1986, 379 nuclear reactors were operating in 31 countries, 268.8 GWe net, with 110 under construction. 6 of those units are not included in the net capacity because no net figure has been published for them.
Compared with 1985, the operating fleet grew by 26 reactors. 27 reactors were connected to the grid that year, 27,762 MWe, mostly in United States (7), France (6) and Canada (2). 1 unit was permanently shut down, 925 MWe. The countries with the most operating capacity were United States (89,595 MWe), France (40,335 MWe) and Japan (23,613 MWe).
That year: Chernobyl. Explosion of reactor 4, RBMK, Ukraine.
← Previous year, 1985 · Next year, 1987 → · See this year on the map · Today's rankings
Connected to the grid in 1986
| Unit | Country | Type | Model | MWe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce B7 |  Canada | PHWR | CANDU 750B | 817 |
| Pickering B8 | Canada | PHWR | CANDU 500B | 516 |
| Dukovany 2 |  Czech Republic | PWR | VVER-440 (V-213) | 479 |
| Dukovany 3 | Czech Republic | PWR | VVER-440 (V-213) | 479 |
| Cattenom 1 |  France | PWR | P4 REP 1300 | 1,300 |
| Chinon B-3 | France | PWR | CP2 | 905 |
| Flamanville 2 | France | PWR | P4 REP 1300 | 1,330 |
| Paluel 4 | France | PWR | P4 REP 1300 | 1,330 |
| St. Alban 2 | France | PWR | P4 REP 1300 | 1,335 |
| Superphénix | France | FBR | Na-1200 | 1,200 |
| Brokdorf |  Germany | PWR | Siemens-KWU (KWU) | 1,410 |
| Muelheim-Kaerlich | Germany | PWR | B & W | 1,219 |
| Paks 3 |  Hungary | PWR | VVER-440 (V-213) | 479 |
| Fukushima Daini 4 |  Japan | BWR | BWR-5 | 1,067 |
| Tsuruga 2 | Japan | PWR | Mitsubishi 4-loop (M 4LP) | 1,108 |
| Kalinin 2 |  Russia | PWR | VVER-1000 (V-338) | 950 |
| Hanbit 1 |  South Korea | PWR | WH F | 965 |
| Hanbit 2 | South Korea | PWR | WH F | 952 |
| Rivne 3 |  Ukraine | PWR | VVER-1000 (V-320) | 950 |
| Zaporizhzhia 3 | Ukraine | PWR | VVER-1000 (V-320) | 950 |
| Catawba 2 |  United States | PWR | Westinghouse 4-loop (WH 4LP) | 1,150 |
| Fermi 2 | United States | BWR | GE BWR/4, Mark I containment (BWR-4 (Mark 1)) | 1,115 |
| Hope Creek 1 | United States | BWR | GE BWR/4, Mark I containment (BWR-4 (Mark 1)) | 1,172 |
| Millstone 3 | United States | PWR | Westinghouse 4-loop (WH 4LP) | 1,210 |
| Palo Verde 2 | United States | PWR | Combustion Engineering System 80 (CE80 2LP) | 1,314 |
| Perry 1 | United States | BWR | BWR-6 (Mark 3) | 1,240 |
| Shoreham | United States | BWR | BWR | 820 |
Shut down in 1986
| Unit | Country | Type | Model | MWe | Grid connection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chernobyl 4 | Ukraine | LWGR | RBMK-1000 (RBMK) | 925 | 1983 |
Countries by operating capacity in 1986
| # | Country | Reactors | MWe | Under construction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 99 | 89,595 | 20 |
| 2 | France | 45 | 40,335 | 18 |
| 3 | Japan | 33 | 23,613 | 9 |
| 4 | Germany | 24 | 19,785 | 6 |
| 5 | Russia | 32 | 15,605 | 9 |
| 6 | Canada | 18 | 11,102 | 5 |
| 7 |  Sweden | 12 | 11,056 | — |
| 8 |  United Kingdom | 33 | 7,179 | 9 |
| 9 | Ukraine | 9 | 7,147 | 10 |
| 10 |  Spain | 8 | 6,140 | 2 |
| 11 |  Belgium | 8 | 5,932 | — |
| 12 |  Taiwan | 6 | 5,052 | — |
| 13 | South Korea | 6 | 4,839 | 3 |
| 14 |  Switzerland | 5 | 3,346 | — |
| 15 |  Finland | 4 | 2,794 | — |
| 16 |  South Africa | 2 | 1,854 | — |
| 17 |  Slovakia | 4 | 1,748 | 2 |
| 18 |  Bulgaria | 4 | 1,632 | 2 |
| 19 | Czech Republic | 3 | 1,437 | 1 |
| 20 | Hungary | 3 | 1,437 | 1 |
| 21 |  Italy | 3 | 1,273 | — |
| 22 |  Lithuania | 1 | 1,185 | 1 |
| 23 |  India | 6 | 1,031 | 4 |
| 24 |  Argentina | 2 | 943 | 1 |
| 25 |  Armenia | 2 | 792 | — |
| 26 |  Slovenia | 1 | 696 | — |
| 27 |  Brazil | 1 | 609 | 1 |
| 28 |  Netherlands | 2 | 537 | — |
| 29 |  Pakistan | 1 | 90 | — |
| 30 |  Kazakhstan | 1 | 52 | — |
| 31 |  North Korea | 1 | 5 | — |
| 32 |  China | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 |  Iran | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 |  Mexico | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 |  Philippines | 0 | 0 | — |
| 36 |  Romania | 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.