Released 31 january 2026
Stable support for nuclear power in Sweden
The high level of support for the long-term use of nuclear power in Sweden remains stable. More than half, 56 percent of those surveyed, want to build new nuclear power if needed. Almost a third, 29 percent, want to continue using today’s reactors but not build new ones, while 5 percent want to close nuclear power through political decisions.
The opinion research institute Novus conducts surveys every year to map the attitude of Swedes towards nuclear power. The surveys are commissioned by the Analysis Group, which is a network of experts and researchers from the energy industry and universities.
The results of the latest survey, conducted in October 2025, have small differences compared to the survey conducted the year before. Of the respondents, 56 percent want to continue using nuclear power and also build new ones if necessary; in the fall of 2024, 55 percent chose the same response. 29 percent want to continue using the existing nuclear power plants but not build new reactors, this is an increasing trend from 26 percent in 2024. The proportion who want to phase out nuclear power through political decisions has decreased since the previous survey, only 5 percent of those surveyed want to see a rapid phase-out, compared to 9 percent in 2024. One in ten, 9 percent, do not know what to say, compared to 10 percent the year before.
– It would be strange if there were no people who are against nuclear power, but the proportion of respondents who want to phase out nuclear power by political means is remarkably low, says Mattias Lantz, researcher at Uppsala University and chairman of the Analysis Group (Analysgruppen). Very few want to quickly eliminate nuclear power, even when we look at differences between gender and different age groups.
However, there are some differences in how the support for nuclear power is expressed. A larger proportion of men than women are in favor of building nuclear power if necessary, and the gap has increased somewhat over time. 76 percent of men want to continue using nuclear power and expand if necessary, compared to 37 percent of women. But among women, 43 percent support the continued use of current nuclear power even if they do not want new reactors to be built. Among men, only 16 percent selected that response.
– Over all, support for the continued use of current nuclear power is high among both women and men, with 92 percent of the men supporting current nuclear power in some form compared to 79 percent of the women, says Mattias Lantz.
Young respondents deviate somewhat from the general trend. In the 18-29 age group, 45 percent want to build new nuclear power if necessary, a decreasing trend from 54 percent in the fall of 2022. The proportion of young respondents who want to use current nuclear power but not build new reactors is 42 percent, and only 4 percent of them want to phase out nuclear power through political decisions.
When asked about concerns, one in three people, 31 percent, responded that they feel worried to some degree when they think about nuclear power. One third of them, 32 percent, experience the concern as profound. When asked about what makes the respondent worried, 39 percent mention the risk of an accident and its consequences, while 22 percent address the issue of waste management and final disposal of spent fuel. Almost one in five, 18 percent, mentions the risk of terrorist acts, sabotage or war.
– Also here there is a big gender gap, 16 percent of the men answer that they are worried, in contrast to 46 percent of the women, says Viktor Wemminger at Novus. This difference has, with small variations, been fairly constant since the question was first asked in 2006.
On a separate question about replacing old reactors, if necessary, with new ones at the same location, 57 percent answer that they are in favor of the proposal while 15 percent are against it. 28 percent do not know how to answer.
A majority of the respondent feel comfortable with the operation of Swedish nuclear power plants, 77 percent answer that they believe that the nuclear power plants that are in operation in Sweden are safe or very safe. Trust in nuclear power plants in other countries is not as high, with 54 percent believing that nuclear power in the rest of Europe and the USA is safe, 30 percent of the respondents believe that reactors in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world, are safe and 18 percent give that answer for Russian reactors.
The Analysis Group has been following Swedish public opinion regarding nuclear power since 1997. The survey is conducted using web interviews in Novus’ randomly recruited Sweden panel. The surveys have had the same wording of questions and answers since 2006. In the most recent survey, 1028 people in the age span 18-84 were interviewed. The survey period was 23-28 October 2025. The report from Novus with all questions and answers for the latest survey, as well as the previous surveys, is available on the Analysis Group’s website: analys.se
Analysgruppen is an independent network financed by the Swedish nuclear power industry.
For more information, contact Mattias Lantz
Phone: +46(0)730 – 454 384
Email: info@analys.se
This press release is available as pdf here. For requests of further information about the opinion polls in English, please contact us. The results from the latest opinion poll is available in Swedish are found on this link. There is also an archive with the results from older polls.