Countries with the most industrial robots per 10,000 employees, 2018 report

South Korea trumps Germany and Japan in robotics, with the United States also lagging behind in the top 10. South Korea has the biggest number of industrial robots per 10,000 employees in manufacturing, according to the IFR’s latest figures. South Korea boasts 631 robots per 10,000 employees, which is 8 times the global average.

Singapore, Germany, Japan, and Sweden follow South Korea in the world automation league, with robot densities of 488, 309, 303, and, 223 respectively. Following Sweden in the top 10 are Denmark, United States, Italy, Belgium, and Taiwan.

The United States has 189 robots per 10,000 employees, placing it seventh. But what about the United Kingdom?

Despite its expertise in many areas of robotics and artificial intelligence, the United Kingdom lags behind other developed economies in 22nd place, with a robot density of just 71.

That’s below the global average of 74 industrial robots per 10,000 employees.

The only good news is that the United Kingdom is still one place above China. However, China has a human population of well over one billion people.

Meanwhile, Japan is investing $225 billion by 2020 to build what it calls a “super-smart society”. By contrast, the UK is investing just £300-400 million in the same timeframe. It is worth noting that 85% of that investment comes directly from the EU.

The 2018 report also suggested that each industrial robot can do the jobs of more than 15 full-time human workers.

Countries with the most industrial robots per 10,000 employees: