France
FRAFrance is first in the world for nuclear.
Nuclear supplies 69% of its electricity.
What this grid depends on
Three measures that say more about a country than how much power it makes. Open “what this means” on any of them if the term is new.
Among the cleanest electricity anywhere.
What this means
How much planet-warming gas is released to make one unit of electricity. Two countries can generate exactly the same amount and one of them be ten times dirtier doing it. Lower is better.
France generates a surplus and sells it on.
What this means
The share of what this country generates that is sold abroad rather than used at home. A country can only export if it produces more than it needs, which usually means plentiful hydro, nuclear or wind.
Most of the fuel behind this grid is bought from abroad.
What this means
How much of what this grid runs on the country can supply itself. Sun, wind and water count fully, because nobody can cut them off; coal, gas and oil only as far as the country digs them up. A high score is not the same as a good grid: mining your own coal scores well, importing uranium scores badly.
Also true of France
France is first in Europe for how much electricity it makes.
570 TWh a year.
France has taken the carbon out of its electricity fast.
59 grams of CO2e a kilowatt-hour in 2015, 41 in 2025.
France’s neighbours
GermanyWind overtook coal on Germany's grid in 2023.
SpainSolar overtook wind on Spain's grid in 2025.
ItalyItaly has cleaned up its grid faster than most people realise.
BelgiumBelgium gets next to none of its electricity from hydro, in a region built on it.
SwitzerlandSwitzerland gets next to none of its electricity from gas, in a region built on it.
Figures are for 2025, the most recent year reported for France. Generation shares are a percentage of electricity generated, not of energy used. How this is calculated.