On 13 October 2022, the International Federation of Robotics published its latest data concerning the installation and use of robots in industry.

According to the new World Robotics report, in 2021, there was an all-time high of 517,385 new industrial robots installed in factories around the world, an increase of 31 % compared with 2020. This brings the stock of operational robots around the globe to a new record of about 3.5 million units.

By country/region, Asia remains the world’s largest market for industrial robots, with a share of 74 % of all newly deployed robots in 2021. China, with a strong growth of 51 % or 268,195 new units installed, is the country with the largest installation of industrial robots worldwide. This increase brings the stock of operational robots in China to the 1-million-unit mark. In second came Japan where installations were up 22 % in 2021 with 47,182 new units. Japan is also the world´s predominant robot manufacturing country where exports of Japanese industrial robots achieved a new peak level of 186,102 units in 2021.

The United States came third in the world with 34,987 new installations or up by 14 %.

In Europe, robot installations were up 24 % to 84,302 new units in 2021, with steady demand from the automotive industry, and demand from the general industry up by 51 %. Germany, ranking 5 in the world after South Korea, increased the number of installed robots by 6 % to 23,777 new units in 2021, reaching a stock of operational robots of 245,908 units. In addition, in par with Japan, Germany is also a strong exporter of industrial robots, with exports up by 41 % to 22,870 units, exceeding the pre-pandemic level. In terms of installations, Germany’s share in Europe stood at 28 % of total installations, followed by Italy with 17 % and France with 7 %. Italy and France are also the second and third largest robot markets in Europe, after Germany.

For more information here.