Robot density: Italy at 246 per 10,000 employees, Germany at 469

SATURDAY, 14 NOVEMBER 2026

The new IFR robot density ranking puts Italy thirteenth in the world, above the EU average of 240. China, the largest market for installations, stands at 193: what is worth checking when choosing a supplier.

What is Italy's robot density? In 2025 Italian factories had 246 robots per 10,000 manufacturing employees, just above the European Union average (240) and about half of Germany (469). These are the figures of the new robot density ranking released on 12 November 2026 by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), based on the World Robotics 2026 report.

The IFR robot density ranking

Robot density compares the industrial robots in operation with the number of people employed in manufacturing. It does not count how many robots are bought in a year, but how many are working relative to the workforce, which makes countries of very different size comparable. In 2025 the world average reached its highest level ever, 152 robots per 10,000 employees.

• South Korea: 1,066 robots per 10,000 employees in 2025, first in the world; Singapore second with 873.
• Germany: 469, third in the world; Japan fourth with 452; the United States eighth with 323.
• Italy: 246, thirteenth in the IFR chart, ahead of Canada (242) and France (197).
• European Union: average of 240, about +35% between 2020 and 2025; North America 214 (+24%), Asia 144 (+47%).
• China: 193, nineteenth in the world, up 147% between 2020 and 2025.

Five of the ten most automated economies are in the European Union: Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Slovenia and the Netherlands. Italy is not among them, but it remains the second European market for new installations: according to the World Robotics 2026 report released in September, it recorded about 7,800 in 2025, 11% fewer than the year before.

Italy above the EU average, halfway to Germany

The Italian figure describes a manufacturing sector that has automated more than the European average, but with a clear gap to Germany: 223 fewer robots per 10,000 employees. The IFR does not break the gap down by sector, but it notes that in Germany the largest robot user is the car industry. The most cautious reading is that the structure of industry also matters: in Italy small and medium-sized firms and sectors such as fashion and furniture weigh more, and many of their processes are harder to automate.

The drop in new installations in 2025 does not contradict the rising density: the first measures purchases in the year, the second the stock of robots already in operation. The data does not say, however, whether the slowdown is temporary or signals investments postponed while waiting for incentives.

China is the largest market, but 19th for density

The Chinese case shows why density needs careful reading. China alone installs most of the world's new robots, yet with 193 robots per 10,000 employees it ranks below Italy. The IFR explains that the figure is based on employment data from China's National Economic Census: the workforce base is huge, so the average falls even though the absolute number of robots is the highest in the world.

The figure is a national average and does not describe any single factory. It suggests, however, that alongside highly automated plants, especially in cars and electronics, a large share of production still relies on manual work. For anyone buying in China this is practical information: two suppliers in the same sector can have very different levels of automation.

What it means for importers

The first effect concerns supplier checks. With an average density of 193 robots per 10,000 employees, it is worth not assuming that a Chinese supplier works on automated lines: during selection, ask which steps are robotised and which are manual, and see it during the factory visit or inspection. That is where you decide how much to sample and where to focus the checks.

The second concerns machinery buyers. Since 2026 Italy's hyper-amortisation incentive no longer requires goods to be made in the European Union, and Chinese robot makers now hold more than half of their home market. For an Italian factory that wants to narrow the gap with Germany, a robot or cell imported from Asia becomes an option worth comparing, with attention to CE marking, documentation and service in Italy.

With La Merce, choosing a supplier in China starts right here: in a country where the average is 193 robots per 10,000 employees, we check on site which steps are automated and which are manual before the order is signed.

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