South Korea leads the world in replacing 10% of its workforce with robots

Singapore, China, and Japan have also made it to the top five countries in industrial robot adoption.

By having replaced more than 10% of its workforce with robotics, South Korea has become the world´s number one adopter of industrial robots with 1,012 robots per 10,000 employees.

According to the World Robotics 2024 report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), with a 5% annual increase since 2018, the robot density of South Korea is more than double that of other countries listed in the report in 2023, except for Singapore.

Coming in second place globally, Singapore has 770 robots per 10,000 employees. As a small country with a very low number of employees in the manufacturing industry, the Lion City has reached a high robot density with a relatively small operational stock.

Meanwhile, China has surpassed Germany and Japan and emerged in third position in 2023. The country has pushed the use of automation technology, and doubled its robot density within four years. Currently, it has 470 robots per 10,000 employees.

Germany and Japan ranked fourth and fifth, with 429 and 419 robots per 10,000 employees respectively.

Image / International Federation of Robotics (IFR)