According to the latest public opinion survey conducted by the research firm Savanta and the energy consultancy Radiant Energy Group, global support for nuclear energy remains robust. The survey included 31,831 respondents across 31 countries, representing nearly two-thirds of the world’s population. It was carried out as part of the Powering Attitudes for Clean Energy (PACE) Index.
The results show that 46 percent of respondents support the use of nuclear energy, while 23 percent oppose it—meaning that there are twice as many supporters of nuclear power as there are opponents. Compared to last year, opposition has declined (from 28 percent to 23 percent), while the level of support has remained stable.
In 22 of the 31 countries surveyed, support exceeds opposition. The highest support was recorded in China, Poland, and Russia, where it is three times higher than the number of opponents. Globally, three times more people favor the continued use of nuclear energy than those who support its phase-out. In most countries, over 40 percent of respondents support the construction of new nuclear power plants, according to World Nuclear News.
Interestingly, in countries such as Russia, Poland, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and France, support for subsidizing new nuclear power plants is on par with subsidies for solar and wind power.
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Despite broad support, public concerns remain. As many as 86 percent of respondents expressed worries about the health and safety risks associated with nuclear energy. Additionally, 42 percent believe that nuclear power has low or zero CO₂ emissions, while 48 percent think the emissions are moderate or high. Nevertheless, in countries that previously decided to phase out nuclear power—such as Germany, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Sweden—nuclear technology is still perceived as the most effective way to reduce energy costs.
Concerns about nuclear waste are present in nearly all countries, but are less pronounced where robust storage systems are in place. For example, Finland, with its underground Onkalo repository, and the Netherlands, which uses the above-ground COVRA facility, report significantly lower levels of concern. Egypt and Turkey, which plan to return spent fuel to Russia, also show less negative sentiment on this issue.
A map published in the report clearly shows the divide between countries that use nuclear energy and those that do not. Nuclear-powered countries include the USA, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the UAE, and South Africa. On the other hand, countries without nuclear power plants include Italy, Spain, Norway, Turkey, Egypt, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Australia.
The survey included all G7 and BRICS nations, as well as the 15 largest nuclear energy producers as of 2023, along with additional countries considering nuclear expansion. Participants came from nations that together account for 85 percent of global nuclear energy consumption, making this one of the most representative studies conducted to date.
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