United States vs USSR: Electricity generation from nuclear

United States
784.78 terawatt-hours
in 2025
USSR
143.8 terawatt-hours
in 1984
United States rank
1st
USSR rank
3rd

Electricity generation from nuclear over time

  • United States
  • USSR
0200400600800196519952025

How they compare

United States currently reports 784.78 terawatt-hours against 143.8 terawatt-hours in USSR, a difference of 640.98 terawatt-hours.

That makes United States's figure about 5.5 times USSR's.

Across all 20 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.

United States ranks 1st and USSR ranks 3rd of 208 countries.

United States has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade United States USSR Difference Ahead
1960s 9.11 terawatt-hours 2.59 terawatt-hours 6.52 terawatt-hours United States
1970s 153.42 terawatt-hours 28.53 terawatt-hours 124.9 terawatt-hours United States
1980s 300.6 terawatt-hours 103.29 terawatt-hours 197.31 terawatt-hours United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher electricity generation from nuclear, United States or USSR?
United States, at 784.78 terawatt-hours against 143.8 terawatt-hours in USSR as of 2025.
What is the difference in electricity generation from nuclear between United States and USSR?
640.98 terawatt-hours, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for United States and USSR?
20 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 1984.
How do United States and USSR rank globally for electricity generation from nuclear?
United States ranks 1st and USSR ranks 3rd of 208 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Electricity generation from nuclear. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Electricity generation from nuclear
Unit
terawatt-hours
Source
Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
211 places, 8,460 data points, 1920–2025
Last refreshed

Measured in terawatt-hours.