International robot demand in factories doubles over last decade: report

'TIAGo' is multi-purpose autonomous mobile robot used for deliveries in factory environments and research. Photo credit: PAL Robotics

Technology

Robot installations in factories rise by 145% over last decade

More than 542,000 robots were installed in workplace environments last year

Rowan Dunne

Published

September 26, 2025

Robots are continually becoming more widely utilized in workplace settings throughout the globe, particularly in Asia.

This week, Germany’s International Federation of Robotics (IFR) released a report showing that the quantity being employed worldwide has more than doubled over the past 10 years. Over 542,000 were installed last year in comparison to only 221,000 in 2014.

China is leading the pack with an industrial robot stock that exceeded over 2 million units by the end of 2024. The nation is the world’s number one robotics sector contributor, accounting for 54 per cent of last year’s new installations.

Asia, more broadly, accounted for 74 per cent of new robotic deployments last year. Europe only deployed 16 per cent of the total and 9 per cent were dispersed throughout the Americas.

“The transition of many industries into the digital and automated age has been marked by a huge surge in demand,” explained IFR President, Takayuki Ito.

Japan is second to China when it comes to robotics leadership, according to the report and multiple other sources. The Japanese installed 44,500 robots throughout their country in 2024.

South Korea and the United States are trailing behind China and Japan. Seoul and other developed areas integrated over 30,000 into factory settings while the Americans brought in 34,200 — representing 68 per cent of the total in the Americas.

Germany, where the IFR is headquartered, is top dog in Europe. The EU member state installed nearly 27,000 last year. Other nations mentioned like Spain, France, Italy, the UK and Canada were minuscule contributors in comparison to the leading influences mentioned above.

“Globally, robot installations are expected to grow by 6 per cent to 575,000 units in 2025,” concluded the IFR. “By 2028, the 700,000-unit mark will be surpassed.”

In addition to factory applications, robots are being increasingly adopted for surgical purposes, automation in medical laboratories, cleaning and security.

NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) (ETR: NVD), Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ: ISRG) (FRA: IUI1), Rockwell Automation Inc (NYSE: ROK) (FRA: RWL), ABB Ltd (OTCMKTS: ABBNY) (ETR: ABJ) and UiPath Inc (NYSE: PATH) (FRA: 9UV) are a handful of the world’s top robotics stocks.