Top 10 industries by robot density
How to read
IFR publishes precise industry densities mainly for automotive (and country snapshots). For other customer industries, IFR provides installation shares and operational stock. The table ranks industries by published density where available, then by consistent IFR evidence of robot intensity (multi-year installations, sector snapshots).
| 1 | Automotive (OEM & Tier-1) | Long runs, welding/painting/assembly, high OEE targets. | Korea auto: 2,867 robots/10k (2021). US auto: ~1,287–1,457 (2020–2021 snapshots). IFR confirms ~1 million robots operating in auto worldwide (2023). |
| 2 | Electronics & Semiconductors | Clean-room handling, SMT/packaging, 24/7 takt, miniaturization. | Accounted for ~23% of global installations in 2023; high densities in Korea, Singapore, China, Japan (2023–2024). |
| 3 | Metalworking & Machinery | Machine tending, welding, grinding, CNC cells. | ~14% of 2023 installations globally; strong adoption across Europe/Asia (2023). |
| 4 | Plastics, Rubber, Chemicals | Molding take-out, hazardous environments, repeatability. | ~4% of 2023 installations; density strong in chemical/pharma clusters (2023). |
| 5 | Food & Beverage | End-of-line packaging, palletizing, hygiene constraints. | Netherlands F&B snapshot ~275/10k (2021); IFR lists F&B among rising adopters (~3% of 2023 installs). |
| 6 | Electrical Equipment & Appliances | Assembly/test automation; standardized repetitive tasks. | Part of the broader electrical/electronics group that ranks #2 by installs (2023). |
| 7 | Medical Devices & Precision Instruments | Precision assembly, inspection, clean rooms; strict QA. | High adoption in precision clusters (2023 snapshots). |
| 8 | Aerospace | Automated drilling/fastening, composite layup, large-format robotics. | Included under metal & machinery; rising deployments in major hubs (2023). |
| 9 | Fabricated Metals | Arc welding, laser cutting, bending cells for short runs. | Fast growth among SMEs post-2020; noted by IFR in metalworking (2023–2024). |
| 10 | Wood, Paper & Packaging | Material handling, palletizing, vision sorting. | Lower than auto/electronics, but accelerating for end-of-line/intralogistics (2021–2024). |
Global benchmarks
Global density (2023): 162 robots per 10,000 employees (published Nov 20, 2024; reiterated Jan 23, 2025). Country leaders: Korea 1,012, Singapore 730, China 470 (2023).
Automotive outlier: Korea’s car industry ~2,867/10k (2021); Germany, US, Japan ~1,400–1,500/10k range in 2021–2023 snapshots; ~1 million robots in auto worldwide (2023).
Electronics & semiconductors: ~23% share of global installations in 2023 despite down-cycle, reflecting sustained high density in leading hubs.
Productivity & labor effects
Higher density correlates with fewer manual bottlenecks, more stable takt time, and higher OEE. Automotive and electronics lead in welding, painting, pick-and-place, precision assembly; F&B density rises on packaging/palletizing; metalworking SMEs gain throughput via collaborative welding and machine-tending cells.
Country sector mix shapes outcomes; for example, Poland’s sector gap (auto ~247/10k vs other industries ~62/10k, 2024 data) shows how dense clusters pull national averages up.
Methodological note
IFR reports country densities annually and publishes select sector densities (notably automotive). Where no single global density is published for an industry, ranking relies on IFR installation shares, multi-year patterns, and country snapshots (clearly flagged above). Figures reflect the latest public IFR releases (2023 data published 2024/2025).
Primary sources (originals)
- IFR — World Robotics 2024 (Industrial Robots), executive summary and data tables (published Nov 2024; covers 2023 data).
- IFR press release — Global robot density in factories doubled in seven years (Nov 20, 2024) and follow-up notes (Jan 23, 2025).
- IFR news — Automotive density snapshots (Korea, Germany, US, Japan) and “One million robots in car industry” (2021–2023).
- IFR update — Robot installations in U.S. auto industry, China density (May 8, 2025).
- ING Think — Robots in the food industry; Netherlands F&B density snapshot (~275/10k), Dec 1, 2021.
- IFR/Plastech brief — Poland sector densities (auto ~247/10k vs other ~62/10k), 2024/2025 references.
