Most industrial robots are programmable machines, and artificial intelligence is an optional layer on top of them. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) counted 5 million industrial robots in operation worldwide at the end of 2025, with more than 600,000 installed during that year. In Canada, installations were almost 4,000 units in 2025, and in the United States about 38,500.
Key takeaways
- ISO 8373 defines an industrial robot as an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator with three or more axes. The definition does not mention AI.
- IFR reports 5 million industrial robots in operation worldwide in 2025, up 9 percent, with more than 600,000 new units installed.
- Canada installed almost 4,000 industrial robots in 2025 (up 5 percent), and the United States about 38,500 (up 12 percent).
- Professional service robots, a separate category, sold almost 200,000 units in 2024, and transport and logistics was the largest segment at 102,900.
- IFR links rising robot capability to advances in AI, machine vision, and sensing, but its counts do not measure how much AI any given robot uses.
What counts as an industrial robot
The IFR uses the ISO 8373:2021 definition: an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator, programmable in three or more axes, which may be fixed in place or mounted on a mobile platform. A robot arm that welds the same car seam thousands of times a day meets this definition. So does an arm guided by a camera and a trained vision model. The definition covers both because it describes the machine and its programmability, and says nothing about how decisions inside it are made.
That matters for reading headlines. A statement that factories are adopting robots is a statement about machines like these. A statement that factories are adopting AI is a different claim and needs its own evidence.
What the 2025 installation counts show
According to IFR's release on 2025 data, the global stock of operating industrial robots reached 5 million, a record and 9 percent higher than a year earlier. Annual installations rose 11 percent to more than 600,000 units. China accounted for 354,000 of those installations, or 59 percent of the world total. The United States, with about 38,500 units (up 12 percent), became the second-largest market, ahead of Japan at 36,219 units. IFR forecasts 655,000 installations worldwide in 2026.
The same release puts Canada at almost 4,000 units in 2025, up 5 percent, with average annual growth of 9 percent from 2020 to 2025. Mexico installed under 5,200 and Brazil almost 4,300. For sector detail, an earlier IFR release on preliminary US figures reported about 13,500 automotive installations, and roughly 3,000 each in food, metal and machinery, and electrical and electronics. Those US sector figures were labeled preliminary.
Service robots are counted separately
Robots outside factory production lines fall under service robot categories. IFR's World Robotics 2025 service robot report counted almost 200,000 professional service robots sold in 2024, up 9 percent. Transport and logistics led with 102,900 units, up 14 percent. Hospitality followed with more than 42,000 units (down 11 percent), and professional cleaning with more than 25,000 (up 34 percent). Medical robots, in their own ISO category, reached around 16,700 units. IFR notes that these figures come from a sample of 294 suppliers and are not projected to the whole industry, and it discourages comparing data across different editions of the report.
Where AI enters, and where it does not
IFR's 2026 release states that advances in artificial intelligence, machine vision, and sensing are expanding what robots can do, and that easier programming lowers the cost of putting them to work. That is a statement about trend and cause, and the release gives no count of AI-equipped robots. The table below is an illustrative example of how the same robot arm can sit at different points on the spectrum. It is not drawn from IFR data.
| Setup | How it decides what to do | Does it involve machine learning? |
|---|---|---|
| Arm repeats a fixed welding path | Stored coordinates and timing | No |
| Arm adjusts to part position found by a camera | Image processing rules, sometimes a trained detector | Possibly |
| Mobile robot plans routes around people and pallets | Maps, sensors, and path planning | Often, for perception |
| Arm picks unfamiliar items from a bin | A model trained on many example grasps | Yes |
Questions to ask about any robot adoption claim
- Is the figure installations in one year, or stock in operation?
- Does it cover industrial robots, service robots, or both?
- Does the source say a model is trained from data, or only that a machine is automated?
- Is the sector breakdown preliminary or final?
FAQ
Is every industrial robot an AI system?
No. Under the ISO 8373 definition, an industrial robot is defined by being reprogrammable and multi-axis. Many follow fixed programs. AI appears where a robot must interpret camera images or other noisy sensor data.
How many industrial robots does Canada install each year?
IFR reports almost 4,000 units in 2025, up 5 percent from the year before. A single year is a weak guide to a trend, and the five-year average of 9 percent growth gives a steadier picture.
Do robot counts show how many jobs robots replace?
No. Installation counts measure machines, not employment. Job effects depend on the tasks, the industry, and how work is reorganized, and need labor data to assess.
Why are IFR numbers from different years hard to compare?
IFR revises figures as more supplier and national data arrive, and it advises against comparing across editions of its reports. Preliminary numbers, such as the US sector split, can change.
Related reading
- Where AI and robotics meet
- AI adoption across countries
- Applications of AI across industries
- Social effects of AI and robotics
More in AI Basics.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Five million robots now operate in factories globally, International Federation of Robotics, 2026
- US robot industry returns to double digit growth, International Federation of Robotics, 2026 (preliminary data)
- Service robots see global growth boom, World Robotics 2025 Service Robots, International Federation of Robotics, 2025
- Industrial robots, International Federation of Robotics (ISO 8373:2021 definition)