Robotics market
Where the world's new robots go: by region and by industry
Asia took 74% of the world's new robot installations in 2024, against 16% for Europe and 9% for the Americas. Robot deployment is heavily concentrated in one region.
Within the United States, which installed 34,200 robots in 2024, automotive took around 40% of them. IFR's preliminary figures for the year put the car industry at 13,700 units, metal and machinery at 3,800, and electrical and electronics at 2,900. Even the American robot market is an automotive story first.
This page traces the regional and industry splits to the IFR and shows where robots concentrate, which the global totals hide.
Data covers Global robot installations by region and US installations by industry, 2024 (IFR). Published 2026-07-17. Last reviewed 2026-07-17. Last updated 2026-07-17. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74% | Asia's share of installations (2024) | [A] | High | Asia took nearly three quarters of the world's new robot installations in 2024. Regional concentration, not the global total, is the fact that shapes almost every claim about robot adoption. |
| 16% | Europe's share | [A] | High | Europe's share of 2024 installations. |
| 9% | Americas' share | [A] | High | The Americas' share, the smallest of the three regions. |
| 13,700 units (preliminary) | US automotive installations (2024) | [B] | Medium | Automotive led US installations, up 10.7%, taking around 40% of the country's robots. This comes from IFR's preliminary May release, which is the only one carrying the US industry breakdown. The final September release does not restate the split. |
| 34,200 units | US total installations (2024) | [A] | High | The final figure from IFR World Robotics 2025, down 9% from 2023. IFR's preliminary May release had put the year at 34,300, so cite this one for the total. |
Why the numbers disagree
A global installation total flattens a very uneven map. Asia took 74% of 2024 installations, Europe 16%, the Americas 9%, so the world figure is overwhelmingly an Asian one. A statement about 'global robot adoption' is mostly a statement about a few Asian economies.
The industry concentration is just as sharp. Automotive took around 40% of US installations, with metal and machinery at 11% and electrical and electronics at 9% well behind it. So even national robot figures are driven by one or two sectors, and a claim about 'US manufacturing automating' is largely about cars.
Concentration matters for interpretation. Because installations cluster by region and industry, a swing in one country's automotive investment can move the global figure, and a broad statement about robots everywhere can rest on a narrow base.
How to cite these figures
Give the regional split, not just the total: Asia 74%, Europe 16%, the Americas 9% of 2024 installations.
For national figures, name the leading industry and the release you took it from. The United States installed 34,200 robots in 2024 per IFR's final World Robotics 2025 figures, and automotive took around 40% of them per IFR's preliminary May release.
Treat 'global robot adoption' as concentrated. The world figure is mostly Asian, and national figures are usually driven by one or two sectors.
Where people go wrong
Reading a global installation figure as evenly spread. Asia takes about three quarters of it.
Assuming a national robot market is broad-based. In the US it is automotive-first, with other sectors far behind.
Generalizing from the total to 'everyone is automating.' The base is narrow, by region and by industry.
Quoting 34,300 as the US total. That was IFR's preliminary May figure for 2024, revised to 34,200 in the final World Robotics 2025 release. The preliminary release is still worth citing for the US industry split, which the final release does not repeat, but not for the total.
How we checked
The regional shares and the US total come from IFR's World Robotics 2025 release, and the US industry split from IFR's earlier US automotive release. We retrieved both and confirmed the 74/16/9 regional split, the 34,200 US total, and the 13,700 automotive figure in their text.
We pair region and industry deliberately, because the concentration story is the same at both levels: robot installation is not evenly spread, and the totals hide that.
Where a figure is a share, we keep it as a share, and where it is a count, we keep it as a count, so the two are not blended into a false composite.
The two releases were published five months apart and do not agree on the US total. The May release gave 34,300 as a preliminary result; the September release finalised the year at 34,200. We take the total from the final release and use the preliminary one only for the industry breakdown, which the final release does not restate.
Full source list
Primary sources, with live links. Every figure above traces to one of these.
- [A]International Federation of Robotics (IFR)September 25, 2025
IFR, "Global Robot Demand in Factories Doubles Over 10 Years" (World Robotics 2025), regional shares
https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/global-robot-demand-in-factories-doubles-over-10-years - [B]International Federation of Robotics (IFR)May 8, 2025
IFR, "Robot Installations in US Auto Industry Up 10.7%", US installations by industry, 2024
https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/robot-installations-in-us-auto-industry-up-10.7
Common questions
- Where are most robots installed?
- In Asia, which took 74% of the world's new robot installations in 2024, against 16% for Europe and 9% for the Americas, per the IFR.
- Which US industry installs the most robots?
- Automotive. IFR's preliminary figures for 2024 put the car industry at 13,700 units, around 40% of US installations, followed by metal and machinery at 3,800 and electrical and electronics at 2,900. The final US total for the year was 34,200.
- Is robot adoption evenly spread?
- No. It is heavily concentrated by region, mostly Asia, and by industry, mostly automotive within national markets. Global and national totals hide that concentration.
- Why does concentration matter?
- Because a swing in one country's automotive investment can move the global figure, so a broad claim about robots everywhere can rest on a narrow base.
- Is the US 2024 figure 34,200 or 34,300?
- 34,200. IFR's preliminary release in May 2025 put US installations at 34,300, and the final World Robotics 2025 release in September revised the year to 34,200, down 9% from 2023. Cite the final figure.
More data, traced to source
- Robot installations did not set a record last year: they peaked in 2022
Coverage calls each year's robot installations a record. They are not. Installations peaked in 2022 at 552,946 units, and the two years since came in below that, with the next record still forecast for later this decade.
- 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.
- 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.
- Japan builds robots for export, not for home
Japan is the world's robot workshop, and most of what it makes leaves the country. In the big welding applications, Japanese makers ship several times more robots abroad than at home.
- More than half of America's industrial robots sit in just 10 states
The most-cited state-level map of US industrial robots puts more than half of them in 10 Midwestern and Southern states, led by Michigan. We could find no fresher free breakdown anywhere, and this one is a decade old.