Industrial robots: Five million in operation, and the USA overtakes Japan for the first time

For the first time, five million industrial robots are working worldwide in factories. This is shown by the World Robotics 2026 report, which the industry association IFR presented on September 24: in 2025, over 600,000 new systems were added, eleven percent more than in the previous year. China alone installed 354,000 units, accounting for 59 percent of the global market, while the USA surpassed Japan for the first time with 38,500 units.

Europe, however, is shrinking, with the EU declining by eleven percent and Germany by eight percent. Also revealing is a look at the segment everyone is talking about: the IFR counts only around 7,000 full-size humanoids for 2025, roughly one for every 85 new industrial robots.

Japan is the real loser in the new statistics. With 36,219 installations, the country fell back by 19 percent and loses the second-place position after decades, even though Fanuc and Yaskawa remain among the world's largest robot manufacturers. South Korea held steady at around 30,000 units, nearly at the previous year's level, India increased by 15 percent to 10,500 and remains in sixth place. Brazil made the strongest jump among larger markets with an increase of 38 percent, though from a low base of 4,300 robots.

Meanwhile, the balance of power in China is shifting less dramatically than one might think. Domestic manufacturers supplied 195,000 robots, 15 percent more than the previous year, but their market share fell from 57 to 55 percent. Foreign suppliers have thus gained some ground in the world's most important market. For Europe's robot manufacturers, this is one of the few good news items in the report.

Because things are going poorly at home. Around 60,500 robots were installed in the EU, with Germany accounting for 25,000 units, or 41 percent of that. Italy lost eleven percent, France eight, Spain even 15 percent. The IFR cites above all the hesitation of the automotive industry, whose major investment cycles are not expected to resume until 2027 and 2028. The press release does not provide separate figures for Switzerland. At 294 robots per 10,000 employees, it ranked tenth in the last density survey, and with ABB and Stäubli, it provides two major suppliers who are likely to feel the decline in the neighboring German market.

For 2026, the association expects 655,000 installations, a nine percent increase, and for 2029, 806,000. Even the boldest humanoid forecasts seem modest by comparison. Goldman Sachs raised its expectations for this year to 75,000 humanoid robots in mid-September, which would be just over one-ninth of the classical market. IDC reported nearly 25,000 humanoids delivered in the first half of the year on September 29, of which 77.9 percent were from China.

The fact that the IFR comes in at only 7,000 for the whole year 2025, while Omdia counted around 13,000, is not a contradiction. The world association records exclusively humanoids over 140 centimeters that are used commercially; smaller models for research, education, and demonstrations are excluded. But it is precisely these applications that dominate: according to IDC, even in the first half of 2026, around 69 percent of deliveries went to research, education, demonstrations, and data centers. For those who want to view the market soberly, for the first time there is a figure from the organization that has been counting industrial robotics for decades, and this figure is significantly smaller than the headlines suggest.

The increase in the USA occurred before the new restrictions on robots from China that have been in place since this summer. Whether they will solidify the lead over Japan or mainly increase costs for factory operators will only be shown in the next edition of the report.