Timeline · 1991

The world's nuclear fleet in 1991

In 1991, 419 nuclear reactors were operating in 31 countries, 333.1 GWe net, with 58 under construction. 4 of those units are not included in the net capacity because no net figure has been published for them.

Compared with 1990, the operating fleet shrank by 1 reactor. 4 reactors were connected to the grid that year, 3,756 MWe, mostly in Bulgaria (1), China (1) and France (1). 6 units were permanently shut down, 1,804 MWe. China connected its first nuclear reactor in 1991. The countries with the most operating capacity were United States (107,169 MWe), France (55,535 MWe) and Japan (31,994 MWe).

Connected to the grid in 1991

UnitCountryTypeModelMWe
Kozloduy 6Bulgaria BulgariaPWRVVER-1000 (V-320)1,003
Qinshan 1-1China ChinaPWRCNP-300326
Cattenom 4France FrancePWRP4 REP 13001,300
Ohi 3Japan JapanPWRMitsubishi 4-loop (M 4LP)1,127

Shut down in 1991

UnitCountryTypeModelMWeGrid connection
Chooz AFrance FrancePWRCHOOZ-A3051967
KNK IIGermany GermanyFBR—171978
Chernobyl 2Ukraine UkraineLWGRRBMK-1000 (RBMK)9251978
Trawsfynydd 1United Kingdom United KingdomGCRMagnox1951965
Trawsfynydd 2United Kingdom United KingdomGCRMagnox1951965
Yankee RoweUnited States United StatesPWRWH (DRY)1671960

Countries by operating capacity in 1991

#CountryReactorsMWeUnder construction
1United States United States111107,1693
2France France5555,5357
3Japan Japan4231,9949
4Germany Germany2022,116—
5Russia Russia3218,8985
6Canada Canada1912,7753
7Ukraine Ukraine1411,9225
8United Kingdom United Kingdom3511,3511
9Sweden Sweden1211,056—
10Spain Spain97,710—
11South Korea South Korea97,7012
12Belgium Belgium75,922—
13Taiwan Taiwan65,052—
14Switzerland Switzerland53,346—
15Finland Finland42,794—
16Bulgaria Bulgaria52,6351
17Lithuania Lithuania22,370—
18Czech Republic Czech Republic41,9162
19Hungary Hungary41,916—
20South Africa South Africa21,854—
21Slovakia Slovakia41,7484
22India India71,2337
23Argentina Argentina29431
24Mexico Mexico17771
25Slovenia Slovenia1696—
26Brazil Brazil16091
27Netherlands Netherlands2537—
28Armenia Armenia1416—
29Pakistan Pakistan190—
30Kazakhstan Kazakhstan152—
31North Korea North Korea15—
32China China003
33Iran Iran001
34Philippines Philippines00—
35Romania Romania002

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.

Other years