5 million robots are now at work in factories worldwide, reports the IFR
Adoption of robotics has continued to increase year over year. Source: International Federation of Robotics The global operational stock of industrial robots increased 9% to a record 5 million units in 2025, according to the International Federation of Robotics, or IFR. 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 He
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The global operational stock of industrial robots reached 5 million units in 2025, representing a 9% increase from the previous year driven by more than 600,000 new installations. Asia dominates robot adoption with China accounting for 59% of global deployments, while the U.S. recently surpassed Japan to become the second largest market. The growth is expected to continue, with forecasts predicting installations will reach 655,000 units in 2026 and 806,000 by 2029, driven by labor shortages, supply chain resilience needs, and advances in artificial intelligence and machine vision that are improving robot capabilities while reducing costs.
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