China, long known as the “world’s factory” as Western economies shipped manufacturing off-shore, is so far ahead of other countries in the deployment of industrial robots that comparisons are almost meaningless. In 2021, more industrial robots were installed in China (268,000) than in the rest of the world combined (249,000).
Japan ranked second (47,000), followed by the US in third (35,000), South Korea (31,000), Germany (24,000) and Italy (14,000). Realistically speaking, India should be able to triple its annual installations and catch up with Italy and then Germany in the near-term future.
