Global nuclear power construction exhibits a clear regional disparity. According to data from the World Nuclear Association (WNA), as of November 9, 2026, China had 40 nuclear power units under construction, ranking first globally. India had 8, Russia 7, Egypt, Turkey, and South Korea each had 4, while the United States had no commercial nuclear power units under construction.
Updated statistics from the WNA on November 11 show that China had 39 units under construction, out of a global total of 82, representing nearly 48% of the total. The remaining countries had a combined 43 units. The United States currently has 94 operating nuclear reactors, with another 25 in the proposal stage but not yet in formal planning or construction. In contrast, China has established a sustained scale of nuclear power project construction, with more continuous project demands in nuclear equipment, engineering construction, and the supply chain.
With the growth in demand for AI data centers, electrification, and industrial electricity, stable baseload power is increasingly important. The long construction cycle of nuclear power plants means that the current scale of construction will affect the new power supply capacity for the next few years and will be one of the key differences in the long-term energy security of AI infrastructure between China and the United States.
