China installs nearly 300,000 robots in 2024, half of world total

China installed nearly 300,000 industrial robots in 2024 and now operates more than 2 million such machines in factories, accounting for roughly half of the world total, the International Federation of Robotics said Thursday. The surge further widens China’s lead in automation and manufacturing capacity, while the United States and other major industrial powers saw much smaller increases in robot installations last year.

The IFR reported about 4.66 million industrial robots were in operation worldwide at the start of this year, and 542,000 robots were deployed in 2024, the second-highest annual total on record. China was responsible for 54 percent of new deployments, the group said. By comparison, American factories added about 34,000 robots and Japan about 44,000, with installations slipping year over year in Japan, the United States, South Korea and Germany even as China’s stock continued to grow.

Industry analysts and IFR data point to several drivers behind China’s rapid adoption. Government funding, coordinated industrial policy and long-running initiatives to upgrade manufacturing have supported both the importation and domestic production of robots. For the first time...