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Nuclear energy remains one of the world's major energy sources, making up over 10% of global electricity generation in 2017. Public acceptance of nuclear energy is essential for its adoption. From a practical perspective, it is beneficial to have a simple indicator that can predict the actual adoption of nuclear energy. Based on practical experience, the authors suggest tolerance and self-sufficiency as potential indicators that may predict the adoption of nuclear energy. By evaluating the cross-sectional data of 18 countries in 2013, this research assesses the actual impact of tolerance and self-sufficiency on public acceptance in order to identify the validity of the two variables. The results indicate that the two variables are statistically significant, while public acceptance is insignificant in explaining national adoption of nuclear energy. This may be because tolerance reflects national willingness to accept potential risk, while self-sufficiency explains a government's likelihood of developing non-carbon energy sources. (C) 2018 Korean Nuclear Society, Published by Elsevier Korea LLC.