Robot Density Β· 2024
166
β–² 16.9% vs 2023 (142)
#23 Worldwide
AV Fleet Units Β· est.
38000
#2 Worldwide
Supercomputers Β· TOP500
31
#4 Worldwide
Automation Score
201.22
Global Rank #18

Robot density: IFR World Robotics 2024 (via Our World in Data), refreshed automatically.
Note on China: we publish the IFR/Our World in Data series for consistency with every other country on this site. IFR's own press releases have cited a substantially higher density for China (roughly 470 per 10,000) using a different manufacturing-employment denominator. China's manufacturing workforce base is disputed and has been revised, so figures for China vary widely between sources β€” treat this reading as one methodology among several. Supercomputer count: TOP500 list, June 2026, refreshed automatically β€” a count of 0 means no system on the current list. AV-fleet figures are modeled estimates pending a live feed.

China Automation Analysis

China's industrial robot density reached 166 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers in 2024, up from 142 in 2023 β€” a 16.9% year-over-year increase. That places it #23 of 53 countries we track. Both figures come directly from IFR World Robotics via Our World in Data.

Growth of this kind typically reflects capital investment in automated production lines rather than a shrinking manufacturing workforce β€” density rises when robot installations outpace employment. Read it alongside the live deployment signals below, which capture the specific installations and contracts driving the trend. On high-performance computing, China has 31 systems on the current TOP500 list of the world's most powerful supercomputers.

Note: the autonomous-vehicle fleet figure shown above is a modeled estimate β€” no authority publishes verified per-country AV fleet counts β€” and is excluded from the Automation Score, which uses only measured robot density and live signal activity.

Latest Automation Signals in China

Automation, robotics and AI developments detected in China by our Signal Engine, which scans industry press and news feeds hourly. Showing the 8 most recent of 428 tracked for China.

DEPLOYMENT 2026-08-07
China deploys robot employees in Beijing to patrol city parks, curb inappropriate behaviour - Daily Excelsior
FINANCIAL 2026-08-07
Humanoid Robots Part 2: China's Playbook for Building Its Own Robot Supply Chain - insights.trendforce.com
LEADERSHIP 2026-08-06
Siemens (XTRA:SIE) CEO Flags Strong China Growth As Automation Business Gains Ground - simplywall.st
FINANCIAL 2026-08-06
China's AI Squared Robotics weighs Hong Kong IPO at near $3 billion valuation - digitaltoday.co.kr
FINANCIAL 2026-08-06
China's UBTech logs 13,361 preorders for consumer humanoid robot series - digitaltoday.co.kr
DEPLOYMENT 2026-08-06
China's Warehouse Robots Are Already In Britain's Supply Chains. Washington's Response Should Worry The NHS - distilledpost.com
FINANCIAL 2026-08-05
China’s AI startup boom shifts focus to world models and robotics - Crypto Briefing
DEPLOYMENT 2026-08-05
China deploys 'robot employees' in Beijing to patrol city parks, curb inappropriate behaviour - ETHRWorld.com
All deployment signals β†’ All financial signals β†’ All hr/layoffs signals β†’ All leadership signals β†’

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does China rank in automation?

China ranks #18 of 53 countries on the Roboradar24 Automation Score, which anchors to measured IFR robot density and adjusts it by recent automation-signal activity.

How many robots are in China?

China has 166 industrial robots per 10,000 manufacturing employees (2024 data), up from 142 in 2023. Source: IFR World Robotics via Our World in Data.

Is China's data live?

The automation signals below are scraped hourly and are genuinely live. Robot density comes from the IFR World Robotics dataset, which is published annually β€” we re-fetch it automatically so the figure updates as soon as IFR releases new data.

Similar Tier Countries

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