Deployment is growing – new figures from the International Federation of Robotics

New figures from the International Federation of Robotics show: The use of industrial robots is growing worldwide – but the leaders differ significantly.

Automation in industry is progressing worldwide. The extent to which a country actually relies on robots can be gauged by the so-called robot density – that is, the number of operational industrial robots per 10.000 employees in the manufacturing sector.

The current World Robotics The 2025 report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) provides complete data for the year 2024 for the first time.

Western Europe sets the standards, Asia is catching up.

With 267 industrial robots per 10.000 employees, Western Europe clearly leads the three major economic regions. North America follows with 204 units, while Asia has a regional average of 131 – but recorded the strongest growth at 11 percent. North America saw an increase of 4 percent, and Western Europe 3 percent.

“The robot density indicator relates the total number of robots used in a country to the number of employees, thus providing a good comparison between economies of different sizes,” explains Takayuki Ito, President of the IFR.

Within Western Europe, eight countries are among the global top 20: Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Spain. With 231 robots per 10.000 employees, the European Union is clearly above the global average of 132 units.

South Korea remains unchallenged at the top of the world rankings

With 1.220 robots per 10.000 employees, the Republic of Korea has been in first place by a wide margin for years. Since 2019, this figure has grown by an average of 7 percent annually. Two particularly automation-intensive sectors are driving this growth: the globally significant electronics industry and a strong automotive manufacturing sector.

Singapore ranks second with 818 units. The city-state model plays a crucial role here: with a relatively small number of industrial workers, a high density can be achieved there even with a comparatively manageable number of robots.

Since 2019, the value has increased by 13 percent annually – the strongest increase among the top 10 countries.

Germany in third place 

With 449 robots per 10.000 employees, Germany ranks third worldwide, making it the most automated major economy in Europe. Since 2019, the robot density in Germany has been growing by 5 percent annually.

Japan follows closely behind with 446 units – also with an annual increase of 5 percent, even though the country itself is one of the world's leading robot manufacturers.

The other places in the top 10 are occupied by Sweden (377), Denmark (329), Slovenia (315), the USA (307), Taiwan (302) and Switzerland (294).

China: world's largest stock

China occupies a special position globally. With approximately 2 million operational industrial robots, the country possesses by far the largest operational inventory worldwide – about four and a half times more than Japan in second place. Furthermore, in 2024, 54 percent of all newly installed robots worldwide were deployed in China, which corresponds to 295.000 units.

Nevertheless, China ranks only 22nd worldwide and 6th within Asia in robot density. With 166 robots per 10.000 workers, an increase of 17 percent compared to the previous year, the country is above the global average, but the sheer size of the Chinese industrial workforce limits this figure.

This applies to both urban production centers and rural regions. The USA ranks eighth globally with 307 units, followed by Canada with 241. Mexico, with 62 robots per 10.000 employees, lags significantly behind.

Sierks Media / PR Agent / © Photo: Akshat Sharma, Unsplash / Source: World Robotics 2025, International Federation of Robotics (IFR)