In 2025, about 7,000 humanoid robots for industrial and professional use were sold worldwide. Reuters reports this, citing the International Federation of Robotics.

According to the agency, to meet the criteria of a humanoid robot it must have a human-like appearance and operate autonomously in an environment designed for people. Having legs is not required.

According to the federation’s Secretary General, Susan Biller, the number of humanoid robots still represents only a “small fraction” of the total number of robots worldwide.

The report states, “There are more than 4 million industrial robots worldwide, and their number increases by 500,000 each year. Sales of humanoid robots in 2025 totaled only 7,000.”

Biller said that many of the humanoid robots sold in 2025 did not perform productive work but were purchased by research institutions or companies using them to collect data to improve artificial‑intelligence models.