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

Adoption of robotics has continued to increase year over year. That increase was due to an 11% jump in annual installations, reported the organization, as factories worldwide installed more than 600,000 new units last year.

“Industrial automation is progressing at high speed,” stated Jane Heffner, president of the IFR. “The new mark of 5 million robots operational in factories worldwide is more than double the number seven years ago. The strongest growth is taking place in Asia, followed by Americas. Europe is moving ahead more slowly.” “It’s a good time be building robots,” said Jon Quick, CEO of Launchpad Build AI. “Capabilities are increasing exponentially, while costs are coming down. Everyone is awake and attuned to the possibilities, looking to do something.” Asia remains the robotics leader China has further strengthened its position as the world leader in robot adoption, said the IFR. Annual installations grew by 20% year over year and now account for 59% of global deployments, it said. The Frankfurt, Germany-based organization found that 354,000 industrial robots were installed in 2025, exceeding the previous year’s total by almost 60,000 units. Chinese manufacturers have sold more than foreign suppliers in their home country. Their installations rose by 15%, reaching 195,000 units – a domestic market share of 55% in 2025 compared with 57% in 2024. “China’s dominance in robot installations – while undoubtedly impressive – won’t be enough alone to solve its export challenges or improve its domestic consumption levels,” observed Quick. “Seen from another perspective, in fact, this picture offers huge potential opportunities to manufacturers 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 19% decrease. Japan’s market moved down from second to third position in the global market, behind the U.S. “Demand for robots is expected to grow slightly, but a major recovery is unlikely in the short to medium term,” said the IFR. The market in the Republic of Korea installed 30,000 units in 2025 – down 1%.