China vs USSR: Primary energy from nuclear
China
1,470 terawatt-hours
in 2025
USSR
435.75 terawatt-hours
in 1984
China rank
2nd
USSR rank
3rd
Primary energy from nuclear over time
- China
- USSR
How they compare
China currently reports 1,470 terawatt-hours against 435.75 terawatt-hours in USSR, a difference of 1,034 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 3.4 times USSR's.
Across all 20 years both countries report, USSR has been ahead every year.
China ranks 2nd and USSR ranks 3rd of 213 countries.
USSR has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 terawatt-hours | 7.85 terawatt-hours | 7.85 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1970s | 0 terawatt-hours | 86.44 terawatt-hours | 86.44 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1980s | 0 terawatt-hours | 313.01 terawatt-hours | 313.01 terawatt-hours | USSR |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from nuclear, China or USSR?
- China, at 1,470 terawatt-hours against 435.75 terawatt-hours in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from nuclear between China and USSR?
- 1,034 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and USSR?
- 20 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 1984.
- How do China and USSR rank globally for primary energy from nuclear?
- China ranks 2nd and USSR ranks 3rd of 213 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.