IFR: about 7,000 humanoid robots sold worldwide in 2025

About 7,000 humanoid robots were sold worldwide in 2025 for industrial and professional service use, according to figures compiled by the International Federation of Robotics and reported by Reuters — a small base versus hundreds of thousands of conventional industrial robots, with many humanoids bought by labs or companies collecting AI training data rather than doing factory work.

HARDWARE desk — the hype says millions of humanoids; the first industry count says thousands. That gap is the real story for jobs and factory plans.

The IFR tally is one of the first industry-wide counts of a technology that Reuters says is drawing billions of dollars in investment and a lot of demo footage. IFR has compiled robotics statistics for three decades and has begun collecting humanoid data next to its much larger industrial-robot and service-robot figures for the first time. File that first-tally / first-time-collecting picture as Reuters’. This desk did not invent a longer IFR humanoid series.

IFR’s definition, via Reuters: to count as humanoid, a robot must have a human-like appearance and operate autonomously in an environment designed for humans. Legs are not required. Autonomously here means the machine can work on its own in those human spaces, not that it must walk on two legs. File that definition as IFR’s, via Reuters. This desk is not rewriting the category.

Susanne Bieller, secretary general of the Frankfurt-based IFR, told Reuters that humanoid numbers remain “a fraction” of the overall robot population. She also said that among humanoids sold in 2025, many were not doing productive work — they were bought by research institutions or by companies using them to generate data for improving AI models. File the fraction line and the research / AI-data line as Bieller’s, via Reuters. This desk did not visit a lab or a factory cell.

Comparison context, still Reuters: around 542,000 regular industrial robots were installed in 2024, and another estimated 199,000 service robots were sold that year for transport, hospitality, and cleaning. The 2025 industrial and service figures are due September 24. File those 542,000 / 199,000 / September 24 lines as Reuters’. Do not treat the 2024 industrial and service numbers as 2025 humanoid substitutes. This desk did not sit on IFR’s industrial tables.

Carmakers, as Bieller told Reuters, are key early adopters and are running pilots with “single-digit or sometimes double-digit numbers of robots in their plants.” File that single-digit / double-digit plant picture as Bieller’s. Do not invent a named automaker, a plant count, or a country split. This desk did not walk a car plant.

Forecast, not an IFR count: Bank of America Global Research, cited by Reuters, estimates 90,000 humanoid robots will be shipped in 2026 and 1.2 million by 2030. File those 90,000 / 1.2 million lines as a Bank of America forecast via Reuters — not as IFR’s 2025 tally, and not as a shipment this desk counted. Reuters also frames the small 2025 base against boom forecasts in the coming years, particularly in China, the world’s largest industrial-robot market, which last month showcased humanoid running and boxing at its robot games. That is Reuters’ contrast, not a China sales total. Do not invent a China-only unit number.

What the IFR tally leaves out, via Reuters: it is based on supplier and national industry-association data. It excludes consumer and military humanoid robots. Medical robots are classified separately. File those exclusions as IFR’s, via Reuters. This desk is not adding a consumer, military, or medical total.

Do not invent unit prices, company market-share tables, or China-only sales totals beyond Reuters. Do not claim the 7,000 units are all working factory robots. Bieller said many 2025 units were bought for research or AI data, not productive work. A factory-scale fleet would show in the industrial-robot tables due September 24. Those tables are not this card.

Plain English for the rest of the card: IFR / International Federation of Robotics = the Frankfurt industry group that compiles robot sales and installation figures. humanoid = a robot with a human-like appearance that can operate on its own in spaces built for people; legs are not required under IFR’s rule. industrial robot = a conventional factory arm or similar machine, not a humanoid. service robot = a robot sold for jobs such as transport, hospitality, or cleaning. productive work = useful plant or service work, as Bieller used the phrase — not a lab demo and not an AI-data collection run. AI training data = recordings of a robot moving, seeing, or handling objects, used to teach an AI model. This filing is the first IFR humanoid tally via Reuters. It is not a 2026 shipment forecast and not a country-by-country table.

CONFIRMED here: Reuters’ 21 Sep 2026 Amsterdam dispatch of IFR compiled figures — Tier B wire, not an IFR newsroom PRIMARY — plus same-day Straits Times Reuters syndication. The about-7,000 2025 industrial / professional-service sales, the first industry-wide humanoid tally, the human-like / autonomous / legs-not-required definition, Bieller’s “fraction” and research / AI-data lines, the 542,000 industrial / 199,000 service 2024 comparison, the September 24 2025 industrial-service date, the single-digit / double-digit carmaker pilots, the Bank of America 90,000 / 1.2 million forecast, and the consumer / military / medical exclusions are Reuters-attributed. NOT claimed: a country breakdown, unit prices, company market-share tables, a China-only sales total, that the 7,000 units are all doing factory work, that this desk recounted IFR’s files, a stock tip, or investment advice. Distinct from the already-filed faraday-future-eai-919, agility-digit-5, unitree-go2-pro-ars-hands-on, boston-dynamics-ipo-unlikely-2027, and abbvie-iambic-ai-drug.