Previous Year Question
Arrange the following countries in the descending order of their number of nuclear power plants and select the correct answer from the codes given below:
France
Japan
Russia
U.S.A.
Codes:
3, 4, 2, 1
3, 1, 4, 2
4, 1, 2, 3
4, 3, 2, 1
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
In 2013, the descending order of the given countries by the number of Nuclear Power Reactors was the United States, France, Japan, and Russia. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Annual Report 2013, the number of nuclear power reactors recorded in these four countries as of 31 December 2013 was as follows.
Country | Number of Reactors (2013) |
4. United States (USA) | 100 |
1. France | 58 |
2. Japan | 48 |
3. Russia | 33 |
The United States had the largest number of Nuclear Power Reactors in the world. France ranked second, where nuclear energy played a particularly important role in electricity generation. In 2013, nuclear energy accounted for approximately 73.3% of France's total electricity supply, compared with approximately 19.4% in the United States.
In Japan, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident occurred following the earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011. Consequently, most of Japan's nuclear reactors were taken out of operation. Although the IAEA listed 48 reactors in Japan in 2013, nuclear energy contributed only 1.7% of the country's total electricity supply that year. Russia had 33 reactors, with nuclear energy contributing approximately 17.5% of its electricity supply.
Important Distinction: A Nuclear Power Plant and a Nuclear Power Reactor are not identical. A Nuclear Power Plant may contain one or more Reactors. The expected sequence in this question is actually based on the number of Nuclear Power Reactors recorded in each country. Therefore, the descending order is USA (4) > France (1) > Japan (2) > Russia (3).