Share of electricity generation from nuclear in South Korea
South Korea: Share of electricity generation from nuclear was 29.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of electricity generation from nuclear in South Korea, 1985–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of electricity generation from nuclear in South Korea is 29.6%, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 2.0% on the previous year and down 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of electricity generation from nuclear in South Korea peaked at 49.0% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 22.5%, in 2018.
That places South Korea 12th out of 207 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 41 years of available data.
Share of electricity generation from nuclear in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 26.7% | — |
| 1986 | 40.6% | +52.1% |
| 1987 | 49.0% | +20.6% |
| 1988 | 43.1% | -12.1% |
| 1989 | 45.7% | +6.1% |
| 1990 | 44.6% | -2.3% |
| 1991 | 42.8% | -4.2% |
| 1992 | 38.6% | -9.8% |
| 1993 | 35.9% | -7.0% |
| 1994 | 32.0% | -10.9% |
| 1995 | 32.9% | +3.0% |
| 1996 | 32.7% | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 31.3% | -4.5% |
| 1998 | 37.8% | +21.0% |
| 1999 | 39.3% | +4.0% |
| 2000 | 37.5% | -4.6% |
| 2001 | 36.2% | -3.5% |
| 2002 | 35.9% | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 37.3% | +3.9% |
| 2004 | 35.5% | -4.7% |
| 2005 | 37.7% | +6.1% |
| 2006 | 36.9% | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 33.6% | -9.0% |
| 2008 | 34.1% | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 32.7% | -4.2% |
| 2010 | 30.0% | -8.1% |
| 2011 | 29.9% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 28.3% | -5.2% |
| 2013 | 25.8% | -8.7% |
| 2014 | 28.9% | +12.0% |
| 2015 | 30.1% | +3.9% |
| 2016 | 28.9% | -4.0% |
| 2017 | 25.8% | -10.8% |
| 2018 | 22.5% | -12.6% |
| 2019 | 24.9% | +10.4% |
| 2020 | 27.8% | +11.6% |
| 2021 | 26.0% | -6.3% |
| 2022 | 28.3% | +8.8% |
| 2023 | 29.2% | +3.4% |
| 2024 | 30.2% | +3.3% |
| 2025 | 29.6% | -2.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of electricity generation from nuclear in South Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | +52.1% | 26.7% | 40.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 41.0% | 26.7% | 49.0% | 5 |
| 1990s | 36.8% | 31.3% | 44.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 35.7% | 32.7% | 37.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.5% | 22.5% | 30.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.5% | 26.0% | 30.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More energy & mining data for South Korea
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -1.55 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0.0001 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 25.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of electricity generation from nuclear in South Korea?
- Share of electricity generation from nuclear in South Korea was 29.6% in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of electricity generation from nuclear recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 49.0% in 1987.
- What is the lowest share of electricity generation from nuclear recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.5% in 2018.
- How does South Korea rank for share of electricity generation from nuclear?
- South Korea ranks 12th out of 207 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of electricity generation from nuclear rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of electricity generation from nuclear. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total electricity produced in the country or region.