Approximately 7,000 humanoid robots were sold worldwide in 2025 for industrial and professional service applications, according to data compiled by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) and reviewed by Reuters ahead of publication.
The figures provide an early indication of the commercial scale of the humanoid robotics market, although sales remain relatively small compared with established categories of industrial and service robots.
The IFR, which has collected global robotics data for approximately three decades, has begun tracking humanoid robots as a separate category.
Humanoid Sales Remain Small Compared With Wider Robotics Market
The estimated 7,000 humanoid robots sold in 2025 compare with approximately 542,000 industrial robots installed worldwide in 2024.
An estimated 199,000 professional service robots were also sold in 2024 for applications including transportation, hospitality and cleaning.
The IFR defines humanoid robots as machines with a human-like appearance that can operate autonomously in environments designed for people. Robots do not necessarily need legs to qualify under this definition.
The organisation’s figures exclude consumer and military humanoid robots, while medical robots are classified separately.
Research and Testing Account for Many Early Deployments
Susanne Bieller, secretary general of the Frankfurt-based IFR, told Reuters that many humanoid robots sold during 2025 were used primarily for research and data collection rather than productive commercial work.
Automotive manufacturers are among the early adopters of the technology, testing humanoid robots in factory environments.
According to Bieller, these pilot programmes generally involve fewer than 10 robots, although some projects use double-digit numbers.
The limited scale of current deployments indicates that manufacturers are still evaluating how humanoid robots can be integrated into industrial processes.
Bank of America Forecasts Growth in Humanoid Shipments
Bank of America Global Research estimates that worldwide humanoid robot shipments will reach 90,000 units in 2026 and increase to 1.2 million units by 2030.
These figures represent the bank’s projections rather than confirmed sales.
The IFR’s historical data are based on information supplied by robot manufacturers and national industry associations.
The federation is scheduled to publish its 2025 figures for industrial and service robots on 24 September, providing an updated comparison with the newly tracked humanoid category.