The era of humanoid robots has begun: 7,000 robots were sold globally last year, and that will increase nearly 13 times this year

Although the category’s indicators remain rather modest in the context of traditional robotic product sales, interest in humanoid robots has increased significantly in a new stage of its evolutionary development. International Federation of Robotics (IFR) point outIt is expected that by the end of 2025, approximately 7,000 humanoid robots will be sold worldwide.

Image source: UBTech Robotics

From the industry association’s perspective, robots that look similar to humans and can operate autonomously in environments originally inhabited by humans can be considered humanoid robots. The presence of legs is not a critical criterion: in principle they can be replaced by wheelbase. This market segment is still in its infancy, as evidenced by data on the size of the industrial robot fleet. As of 2024, the number of industrial robots in operation will exceed 4.66 million units. In 2024, there will be 542,076 industrial robots in operation alone. In addition, they are equipped with approximately 199,000 service robots, which are used in the transportation department, cleaning areas and premises, and interacting with visitors of various institutions. The IFR will release 2025 industrial robot data later this week.

According to federation representatives, many humanoid robots sold last year still do not do any useful work, but were purchased for training, experimentation and research. Car manufacturers are the main operators at this stage of the development of the humanoid robot market, most often placing a few or dozens of such robots in a large enterprise, so they have no impact on the overall automation picture. The IFR has been counting the industrial robot market for three decades, but will include humanoid robots for the first time in 2025.

Bank of America Global Research analysts estimate that about 90,000 humanoid robots will be shipped this year, with sales reaching 1.2 million units by the end of 2030. IFR statistics include only humanoid robots implemented in the corporate sector for civilian needs. Robots for private, military and medical use are not included in the general statistics.