4.3 Million Industrial Robots, With Most In China, Functioning Across The World: Report

Industrial robots have been around us for a while, now reaching full potential amid a massive growth of AI, digitisation, sensing, and automation technologies. According to the World Robotics Report, the annual installations of robots have exceeded half a million across the world’s factories.

This takes the total stock of robots to 4.3 million by the end of 2023. Issued by the International Federation of Robotics, the report provides a detailed account of these newly deployed robots.

While over 70 per cent of robots are located in Asia, 17 per cent are in Europe, and 10 per cent are in the Americas, primarily in the US. As per the research, in some of the countries that spearheaded the automation effort, there was a substantial pause last year after a quick post-pandemic comeback. China had 5 per cent fewer industrial robots annually in 2022; however, it remained the largest in terms of newly installed industrial robots across the world.

With the US making efforts to restore manufacturing, it saw a slight decline in installations in 2023 over the previous year, as did Japan and Korea. While Germany was the only one of the top five automation countries where robot installations spiked compared with 2022, both Italy and France posted declines. “The war in Ukraine, tight monetary policy, and the relative weakness of the European automotive industry compared to China’s are dampening investment,” the report said.

On India’s part, robot installations increased by 59 per cent to a record 8,510 units in 2023, following the demand from the automotive industry. With an increase of 139 per cent in demand, both car manufacturers and suppliers contributed to the development. Speaking on the same, Marina Bill, the International Federation of Robotics President, said, “The country’s robot stocks have almost doubled since 2018. India is one of the strongest growing economies among the Asian emerging markets.”

With such major changes and growth, while the OECD expects global growth to stabilise, geopolitical headwinds are perceived as a major risk and uncertainty factor. “Global robot installations are expected to level off at 541,000 units. Growth is expected to accelerate in 2025 and continue in 2026 and 2027,” it adds.