South Korea becomes first country to replace 10% of its workforce with robots

A new report suggests South Korea is the first country to have replaced 10% of its workforce with robots to tackle its shrinking population due to its low birth rate, reports Independent.

For every 10,000 employees, South Korea now has 1,102 robots, making the country number one in the world in using technology instead of human labour to do tasks, according to the annual survey by World Robotics 2024.

South Korea now has twice the number of robots working in its factories than any other country in the world. Only Singapore has been close to South Korea regarding robots, with 770 of such technology per 10,000 workers.

China is by far the world's largest market, with 2,76,288 robots installed in 2023, representing 51% of global installations.

Japan remained the second largest market for robots, with 46,106 units getting installed in 2023.

India, an emerging market, also saw rapid growth in robot installations, with the rate increasing 59% year on year to 8,510 units in 2023.

"Robot density has increased by 5% on average each year since 2018 [in South Korea]," stated the report, which was presented by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

"With a world-renowned electronics industry and a strong automotive industry, the Korean economy relies on the two largest customers for industrial robots."

Globally, the average robot density has more than doubled over the last seven years, the researchers noted, increasing from 74 to 162 units per 10,000 employees.

South Korea has also introduced robots across other industries, with machines filling roles everywhere, from hospitals to restaurants.

It follows massive investment from the Korean government into its robotics industry, which it sees as a way to address its shrinking working-age population brought about by low birth rates.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in South Korea announced the Fourth Intelligent Robot Basic Plan to invest $2.4 billion into the public and private sector by the end of the decade.

"This initiative outlines the development direction for the robot industry across key industries, ranging from manufacturing to services, agriculture, logistics, healthcare, defence, and social safety," stated a report published in August by the International Trade Administration.

"It includes the goal to establish an efficient system for securing technology to raise the local manufacturing rate of core robot parts from the current 44% to 80% by 2030."