Five million industrial robots are now working in factories worldwide, a 9% jump on 2024 and more than double the level seven years ago, the International Federation of Robotics said in its annual World Robotics 2026 report on September 24, 2026.
Global stock hits a new watermark
IFR clocked more than 600,000 new industrial-robot installations in 2025, up 11% year-on-year, and forecasts 655,000 units in 2026 climbing to 806,000 by 2029. IFR president Takayuki Ito told reporters the milestone shows "industrial automation is progressing at high speed" as manufacturers press on with reshoring, cope with labor shortages and swap in AI-guided machines.
China widens its lead, USA passes Japan
China accounted for 354,000 installations in 2025 — 59% of the global total and 20% higher than a year earlier — as domestic OEMs continued to close on foreign incumbents. The United States installed 38,500 units, up 12%, edging past Japan's 36,219 (down 19%). South Korea slipped 1% to about 30,000 units while Germany fell 8% to 25,000, still 41% of the EU total. India was the fastest-growing large market, up 15% to 10,500 units, keeping its trajectory as the world's next major buyer of factory robots.
AI, vision and integrators drive the curve
IFR credited advances in AI, machine vision, sensing and system integration for pushing adoption beyond the auto sector into electronics, food, pharma and general industry. The trend dovetails with the wave of humanoid pilots reshaping shop floors, from Amazon's $100M Indiana robot-manufacturing plant to 1X's 50,000-NEO shipment target for 2027.
What to watch next
IFR flagged three swing factors for 2027: whether US installations sustain a decade-high growth streak, whether Chinese OEMs export at scale under tightening US chip rules, and whether humanoids and mobile manipulators start showing up in the annual count as a distinct class. The trade group publishes its full free excerpts online and offers the paid report through its Frankfurt office.
Reporting based on coverage from IFR, The Robot Report and Reuters.