5 million robots are now at work in factories around the world, reports the IFR

According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the global operating stock of industrial robots increased 9% to a record 5 million units in 2025. That increase was driven by an 11% increase in annual installations, the organization reported, as factories around the world installed more than 600,000 new units last year.

“Industrial automation is progressing at high speed,” said Jane Heffner, president of the IFR. “The new threshold of 5 million robots operating in factories around the world is more than double what it was seven years ago. The strongest growth is occurring in Asia, followed by the Americas. Europe is moving the slowest.”

“It’s a good time to be building robots,” said Jon Quick, CEO of Launchpad Build AI. “Capabilities are increasing exponentially, while costs are decreasing. Everyone is awake and attuned to the possibilities, trying to do something.”

Asia remains the leader in robotics

China has further strengthened its position as a world leader in robot adoption, the IFR said. Annual installations grew 20% year over year and now represent 59% of global deployments. The Frankfurt, Germany-based organization found that 354,000 industrial robots were installed in 2025, exceeding the previous year’s total by nearly 60,000.

Chinese manufacturers outsold foreign suppliers in their home country. Their installations increased 15%, reaching 195,000 units, a national market share of 55% in 2025 compared to 57% in 2024.

“China’s dominance in robot installations – while undoubtedly impressive – will not be enough on its own to solve its export challenges or improve its domestic consumption levels,” Quick noted. “Seen from another perspective, in fact, this picture offers enormous potential opportunities to producers in other parts of the world”.

Japan is the second largest market for industrial robots in Asia, with 36,219 units installed in 2025, a decline of 19%. The Japanese market moved from second to third position in the global market, behind the United States. “Demand for robots is expected to grow slightly, but a major recovery is unlikely in the short to medium term,” the IFR says.

The Republic of Korea market installed 30,000 units in 2025, down 1%. Annual installations have trended sideways by approximately 31,000 units since 2019, the IFR noted.

The country remained the fourth largest market in the world. The automotive industry’s new investments will take effect in 2027 and 2028, the IFR predicts. Demand for robots in South Korea could break the established trend and grow in 2027, he said.

India installed nearly 10,500 units in 2025, up 15%, ranking sixth globally, behind Germany. While the volume of new installations is still relatively low compared to the top five robot adopting countries, annual installations in India grew on average 27% annually (CAGR) from 2020 to 2025.

The Americas experience growth in the sector

THE US surpassed Japan in 2025 to become the second largest market for industrial robots, after China. Installations of these robots grew by 12% to nearly 38,500 units, which according to IFR is the third highest number on record.

In MexicoRobot installations fell 7% to fewer than 5,200 units. This is the third year of decline, the IFR noted.

In Canada, robot installations increased 5% to nearly 4,000 units. The average annual growth rate from 2020 to 2025 was 9% CAGR.

THE Brazilian The robotics market installed nearly 4,300 new robots in 2025, up 38%. This was driven by a surge in demand for robots from the automotive industry, which installed nearly 2,100 units, an increase of 212%. The IFR attributed the growth to investments by Chinese automakers in Brazil.

Europe sees a modest increase in robot installations

According to the IFR, Germany is the fifth largest robot market in the world and by far the largest in Europe. In 2025 it had a 41% share of total installations in the European Union.

Between 2020 and 2025, annual installations across industries grew on average 2% per year (CAGR). However, sales fell 8% to fewer than 25,000 units in 2025. The automotive industry is the largest user of industrial robots in Germany, but its share is declining, the IFR says.

The number of installations in Italythe second European market, fell by 11% to around 7,800 units. France returns to third place with almost 4,500 units despite an 8% decline, placing it in first place Spain with around 4,300 units, down 15%.

The IFR projects long-term growth

“Global demand for robots is expected to continue its long-term growth trajectory. Installations are expected to increase 9% to 655,000 units in 2026 and reach 806,000 units in 2029,” the IFR said. “Despite substantial regional differences, with countries such as China, the United States and India as strong growth markets, the global outlook remains positive.”

The IFR noted that the need for more resilient supply chains, recent trade policies and geopolitical conflicts are driving increasing offshoring activity among manufacturers. Labor shortages and reshoring or nearshoring of manufacturing will drive demand for automation.

“While this may change the regional pattern of demand for robots, there is no indication that the long-term growth trend of industrial robotics is coming to an end from a global perspective,” the IFR said.

Advances in artificial intelligence, computer vision and sensing are also expected to continue to improve robot capabilities, while easier programming and system integration will reduce implementation costs and bring automation to new applications and customers.

“We have a problem where there are hundreds of thousands of open manufacturing and assembly jobs,” Quick said The robot report. “It should be 2 million by 2030. We just don’t have enough people willing to do these jobs.”

“Secondly, some jobs can cause physical harm and the lack of workers is causing an economic drain,” he added. “We make robots do work that no one wants to do and things that are dangerous. We’re not trying to do everything a human does.”

Editor’s Note: Reshoring manufacturing with automation will be the topic of a panel discussion at RoboBusiness 2026, taking place October 20-21 in Santa Clara, California. Register now to participate.