Robotics market
Robot installations set a new record, topping 600,000 in a year
More than 600,000 industrial robots were installed worldwide in 2025, an 11% jump and a new annual record. The previous record, 552,946 units, had stood since 2022.
For two years the honest answer to whether a year set a record was no. 2023 came in at 541,302 and 2024 at about 542,000, both just under the 2022 peak, even as coverage kept calling each year a record. 2025 broke it by a wide margin.
This page traces the installation series and IFR's forecasts to the three World Robotics releases behind them, so the record question can be answered year by year.
Data covers Global annual robot installations, 2022 to 2025, and IFR forecasts to 2029 (World Robotics 2024, 2025 and 2026). Published 2026-07-17. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| more than 600,000 (+11%) | Installations in 2025 (the record) | [C] | High | IFR gives the total as more than 600,000; we keep that wording rather than estimating a precise figure. |
| +11% | Growth in 2025 | [C] | High | The jump that carried the series past 2022. |
| 552,946 units | Installations in 2022 (the previous record) | [A] | High | The record that stood from 2022 until 2025. |
| 541,302 units | Installations in 2023 | [A] | High | Just below 2022. |
| about 542,000 units | Installations in 2024 | [B] | High | Also just below 2022, despite being widely reported as a record. |
| 655,000 (+9%) | IFR forecast for 2026 | [C] | Medium | A World Robotics 2026 forecast, not a result. |
| 806,000 | IFR forecast for 2029 | [C] | Medium | A World Robotics 2026 forecast, not a result. |
| 575,000 | The earlier forecast for 2025 | [B] | Low | World Robotics 2025 forecast 575,000 for 2025. The outcome, more than 600,000, beat it. |
Why the numbers disagree
Calling every year a record had become a reflex. Coverage described 2023 and 2024 as record years when IFR's own figures put both just below 2022. The reflex made the real record in 2025 harder to notice, because it read like every other year's headline.
The forecast undershot. IFR's World Robotics 2025 release forecast 575,000 installations for 2025, and the outcome was more than 600,000. Forecasts in this series are directional guides, not quotable results.
Report years and data years differ. World Robotics 2026 reports 2025 data. Coverage keyed to the report year misreads which year a figure describes, and that error stacks on top of the record confusion.
How to cite these figures
Cite more than 600,000 industrial robots installed worldwide in 2025, up 11%, a record, from IFR World Robotics 2026.
When you call a year a record, give the number it beat: 552,946 in 2022.
Quote forecasts as forecasts and name the edition: 655,000 for 2026 and 806,000 for 2029 are World Robotics 2026 projections.
Where people go wrong
Calling 2023 or 2024 a record. Both fell just short of 2022.
Treating IFR's earlier 575,000 forecast for 2025 as the result. The outcome was more than 600,000.
Confusing the report year with the data year. World Robotics 2026 describes 2025.
How we checked
Installation figures for 2022 to 2024 come from the World Robotics 2024 and 2025 releases, and the 2025 figure and new forecasts from World Robotics 2026. Each figure is cited to the release that first reported it.
IFR gives the 2025 total as more than 600,000. We keep that wording rather than estimating a precise total.
An earlier version of this page argued, correctly for 2023 and 2024, that installations had not set a new record since 2022. The 2025 figures overturned that, so the page was rewritten around them rather than amended.
Full source list
Primary sources, with live links. Every figure above traces to one of these.
- [A]International Federation of Robotics (IFR)2024
IFR, "Record of 4 Million Robots Working in Factories Worldwide" (World Robotics 2024)
https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/record-of-4-million-robots-working-in-factories-worldwide - [B]International Federation of Robotics (IFR)September 25, 2025
IFR, "Global Robot Demand in Factories Doubles Over 10 Years" (World Robotics 2025)
https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/global-robot-demand-in-factories-doubles-over-10-years - [C]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
- Did robot installations set a record in 2025?
- Yes. More than 600,000 industrial robots were installed worldwide in 2025, up 11%, beating the previous record of 552,946 set in 2022, according to IFR World Robotics 2026.
- Were 2023 and 2024 record years?
- No. 2023 came in at 541,302 and 2024 at about 542,000, both just below the 2022 record.
- What does IFR forecast next?
- 655,000 installations in 2026, up 9%, and 806,000 in 2029. Those are World Robotics 2026 forecasts, not results.
- How accurate was the previous forecast?
- IFR's World Robotics 2025 release forecast 575,000 installations for 2025. The outcome, more than 600,000, exceeded it.
More data, traced to source
- The world's operational robot stock passed 5 million
The number of industrial robots in operation worldwide rose 9% to a record 5 million, more than double the count seven years earlier, per IFR World Robotics 2026. That running stock is separate from the more than 600,000 installed in the year.
- China installed 354,000 robots, almost three in five worldwide
China installed 354,000 industrial robots, up 20%, taking 59% of global installations, per IFR World Robotics 2026. Chinese suppliers kept a majority of their home market, and two sectors that had been booming collapsed.
- 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.
- Where the world's new robots go: by region and by industry
Asia took 74% of the world's new robot installations in 2024, Europe 16%, the Americas 9%. The United States installed 34,200 robots in 2024, and around 40% of them went to automotive. Where robots actually go, traced to source.
- Robot density statistics and where they come from
The most-cited robot density figures are stale. Here are the current numbers, where each one comes from, and why the global average fell while automation kept rising.