Robotics market
China installed 354,000 robots, almost three in five worldwide
354,000 industrial robots, 59% of everything installed worldwide. China's 2025 total rose 20% and beat its previous annual record by almost 60,000 units, according to the IFR.
The big sectors grew and the small ones swung wildly. Electronics installed 96,400 units, automotive a record 78,900 and metal and machinery 78,700, up 44%. But food and beverage, which grew 86% in 2024, fell 37% in 2025, and textiles and apparel collapsed by 92% after five years of explosive growth.
This page traces the China figures to IFR's China and global releases, including the domestic-supplier share, which slipped from 57% to 55% even as Chinese brands installed more robots than before.
Data covers Industrial robot installations in China in 2025, by customer industry and supplier origin (IFR World Robotics 2026, September 2026). Published 2026-10-06. Last reviewed 2026-10-06. Last updated 2026-10-06. Edited by Mike Ramsey / Reliable Media.
The figures and where they come from
Each figure is rated for how safely you can cite it today. Ratings judge current usability, not whether a number was ever correct.
| Figure | What it is | Source | Citation Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 354,000 (+20%) | Installations in China | [A] | High | IFR's US release gives the same year's total as 354,200; the China release rounds to 354,000. |
| 59% | Share of global installations | [B] | High | Almost three in five robots installed worldwide went to China. |
| almost 60,000 units | Margin over the previous record | [B] | High | China broke its own annual record by a wide margin. |
| 96,400 (+16%) | Electrical and electronics | [A] | High | The largest customer industry, with a 27% share. |
| 78,900 | Automotive | [A] | High | A record for China's car industry, and its second-largest customer industry. |
| +38% | Automotive, change in 2025 | [A] | High | IFR reports the growth in the sentence after the record total. |
| 78,700 (+44%) | Metal and machinery | [A] | High | Within 200 units of automotive, and the fastest-growing of the three big sectors. |
| Success uncertain | IFR on the newer sectors | [A] | High | IFR's own judgement on robot makers' push into China's general industry, illustrated by the two sectors below. |
| -37% | Food and beverage, change in 2025 | [A] | High | After 86% growth in 2024. IFR cites it as a new market whose success remains uncertain. |
| -92% | Textiles and apparel, change in 2025 | [A] | High | After a 115% compound annual growth rate from 2019 to 2024. |
| 195,000 (+15%) | Installations by Chinese suppliers | [B] | High | Domestic brands grew, and still held a majority of the market. |
| 55% (from 57%) | Chinese suppliers' share of the home market | [B] | High | The share slipped because foreign suppliers grew faster, not because domestic installations fell. |
| +27% | Installations by foreign suppliers | [A] | High | Faster growth than domestic suppliers, which is what moved the share. |
| 5% to 10% a year | IFR outlook to 2029 | [A] | Medium | A forecast, framed by IFR as likely rather than expected. |
| Labour shortage | Why IFR expects growth | [A] | High | IFR ties the forecast to a labour shortage from demographic change, and says robotic automation will therefore be a preferred solution. |
Why the numbers disagree
The share fell while the brands grew. Chinese suppliers installed 15% more robots, yet their home-market share slipped from 57% to 55%, because foreign suppliers grew faster, at 27%. A falling share and a rising count are both true, and headlines tend to pick one.
Averages hide the volatile sectors. The three big customer industries grew strongly, but IFR singles out food and beverage and textiles as new markets whose sustained success remains uncertain. A sector that grew 115% a year for five years and then fell 92% shows how fast a small base can swing.
Installations are not production. China's share of global installations measures demand inside China, not how many robots Chinese factories build. Output and exports are tracked separately and answer a different question.
How to cite these figures
Cite 354,000 industrial robots installed in China in 2025, 59% of the world total, from IFR World Robotics 2026.
When discussing Chinese suppliers, give the count and the share together: 195,000 units, up 15%, and a 55% home-market share, down from 57%.
Cite single-sector swings with their direction and context. Food and beverage and textiles moved by tens of percent on small bases, and a percentage alone overstates their weight.
Where people go wrong
Reporting that Chinese brands are losing ground. Their installations grew 15%; foreign suppliers simply grew faster.
Quoting China's 2024 installation total as current. The 2025 figure is 354,000, almost 60,000 above the previous record.
Reading installations as manufacturing output. These figures count robots put to work in China, not robots made there.
How we checked
Sector and supplier growth figures come from IFR's China release; the 59% share, the domestic-supplier count and the 2024 comparison come from IFR's global release. Both were published with World Robotics 2026 on the same day.
Where IFR documents give the same quantity at different precision, we say so rather than choosing silently: the US release gives China's total as 354,200 and the China release as 354,000.
We did not compute sector shares beyond the one IFR states, electronics at 27%, because the release does not give a full breakdown that sums to the total.
Full source list
Primary sources, with live links. Every figure above traces to one of these.
- [A]International Federation of Robotics (IFR)September 24, 2026
IFR, "China Installs 59 Percent of World's Industrial Robots" (World Robotics 2026 China release)
https://ifr.org/downloads/press_docs/EN-2026-SEP-24-IFR_Press_Release_WR-CHINA.pdf - [B]International Federation of Robotics (IFR)September 24, 2026
IFR, "Five Million Robots now Operate in Factories Globally" (World Robotics 2026 industrial robots release)
https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/five-million-robots-now-operate-in-factories-globally
Common questions
- How many industrial robots did China install in 2025?
- 354,000, up 20% from 2024 and 59% of all installations worldwide, according to IFR World Robotics 2026.
- Do Chinese companies supply most of China's robots?
- Yes, 55% in 2025, down from 57% in 2024. Domestic suppliers installed 195,000 units, up 15%, but foreign suppliers grew faster, at 27%.
- Which industries install the most robots in China?
- Electronics, with 96,400 units and a 27% share, followed by automotive at a record 78,900 and metal and machinery at 78,700.
- Will China's robot market keep growing?
- IFR considers growth of 5% to 10% a year on average until 2029 likely. It points to a labour shortage caused by demographic change, which it says makes robotic automation a preferred solution.
More data, traced to source
- Chinese robot makers took 57% of their home market
Chinese robot makers outsold foreign suppliers at home for the first time, taking 57% of China's market, up from about 28% a decade ago. This page traces the shift.
- China builds most of the world's robots: 556,000 units a year
China produced 556,000 industrial robots in its latest reporting year, up 14.2%, and installed 295,000 of the world's new ones. The country both makes and buys more robots than anywhere else, traced to the source figures.
- The US overtook Japan to become the world's No. 2 robot market
US factories installed 38,400 industrial robots, up 12%, passing Japan for second place behind China, per IFR World Robotics 2026. IFR's June preliminary figure was 38,000, and its global release rounds the total to almost 38,500.
- Robot installations set a new record, topping 600,000 in a year
Factories worldwide installed more than 600,000 industrial robots, up 11%, beating the 552,946 record that had stood since 2022, per IFR World Robotics 2026. IFR forecasts 655,000 for 2026 and 806,000 for 2029.
- China ran 43.5% of the world's working industrial robots in 2024
China held 43.5% of the world's 4,663,773 operational industrial robots in 2024, far ahead of Japan at 9.7%, the US and Korea at 8.4% each, and Germany at 6.0%. Country shares of the installed base, traced to the IFR.