China vs France: Primary energy from nuclear
China
1,470 terawatt-hours
in 2025
France
1,182 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
2nd
France rank
3rd
Primary energy from nuclear over time
- China
- France
How they compare
China currently reports 1,470 terawatt-hours against 1,182 terawatt-hours in France, a difference of 288 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 1.2 times France's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was France ahead.
China ranks 2nd and France ranks 3rd of 219 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 1 and France in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | France | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 terawatt-hours | 6.7 terawatt-hours | 6.7 terawatt-hours | France |
| 1970s | 0 terawatt-hours | 54.99 terawatt-hours | 54.99 terawatt-hours | France |
| 1980s | 0 terawatt-hours | 586.13 terawatt-hours | 586.13 terawatt-hours | France |
| 1990s | 26.36 terawatt-hours | 1,110 terawatt-hours | 1,084 terawatt-hours | France |
| 2000s | 139.89 terawatt-hours | 1,319 terawatt-hours | 1,179 terawatt-hours | France |
| 2010s | 539.8 terawatt-hours | 1,275 terawatt-hours | 735.18 terawatt-hours | France |
| 2020s | 1,294 terawatt-hours | 1,079 terawatt-hours | 214.97 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from nuclear, China or France?
- China, at 1,470 terawatt-hours against 1,182 terawatt-hours in France as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from nuclear between China and France?
- 288 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and France?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and France rank globally for primary energy from nuclear?
- China ranks 2nd and France ranks 3rd of 219 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Primary energy from nuclear. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours of total energy supply.