The global demand for robotics has been shifting back and forth over the past few years with the pandemic-driven sales boom followed by stagnation in 2024. However, after a year of stagnant sales, the entire industry is set to witness a significant recovery – with double-digit revenue growth forecast by the end of the decade.
This is according to new research from AltIndex.com which says the revenue in the global robotics market is expected to jump by 58% and hit $73-billion by 2029.
The global robotics sector experienced a mixed performance this year with some industries and regions showing resilience while others face headwinds. Although food, consumer goods, and life science industries have shown strong growth in robotics demand, inflation, supply chain disruptions, and higher borrowing costs have caused a massive decline in robot orders in the industrial sector – with the semiconductor and automotive markets seeing up to 40% drops.
The service robots segment was also hit by stagnation, causing many companies to delay major investments in robotics.
With the global demand leveling off, or even declining in some regions like North America and Japan, market growth remained flat in 2024 following a solid 23% increase in 2023. However, the market forecast for the next few years is much more optimistic.
According to Statista Market Insights survey, the entire sector is expected to gross $50,8-billion in 2025, – $4,7-billion more than this year. Similar growth will continue in the next five years, helping market revenues to jump to $67,3-billion by 2029.
Statistics show that service robots will fuel market growth. The service robot segment has undergone significant changes over the past few years. AI and machine learning enabled the development of machines capable of performing various tasks with greater accuracy and efficiency than ever before. As a result, the entire sector has skyrocketed, growing four times faster than the industrial robot market. This trend is set to continue.
According to Statista, the revenue in the service robots segment will jump by 70% and hit over $61-billion by 2029. The industrial robots market will see four times smaller growth, with revenue rising by only 15% to $11,4-billion in the next five years.
Technological advances and increasing demand across various sectors – from healthcare, logistics, and hospitality to the food industry and domestic use – will cause the number of robots to swell in the coming years.
Statista data shows roughly 36,5-million robots are in use in 2024, most of which are service robots. This figure is expected to jump by 50% and hit over 50-million in the next three years. The upward trend will continue to the end of a decade, with the total number of these machines rising to over 61,3-million worldwide.
One-third of all robots in 2029 will be used in Asia which is home to some of the most automated nations on the planet: China, Japan, and South Korea. The European market will count over 19-million robots in the next five years, and North America will follow with roughly 17-million robots by 2029.