Czech manufacturing above world average in use of robots, says HSBC study

For every 10,000 employees in the Czech Republic, there are 101 robots. This measurement, used in a recent HSBC study, places the Central European state above the world average, which lies at 74 robots. However, in the country’s neighbour Slovakia the robot population average is higher by a third. The study also claims that due to its ageing population study the Czech Republic will need to continue increasing the share of robots in its economy.

Illustrative photo: Petr Kološ / Czech Radio

While it may have been a Czech writer who came up with the word “robot”, Czechs are not at the forefront of including these intelligent machines in their economy.

A recent study by HSBC titled The World in 2030 has placed them above average in a global comparison of robots to workers ratio. However with 101 robots for every 10,000 employees, the country is far behind world leader South Korea, which employees 631 robots in the manufacturing sector for the same number of workers.

The Czechs are also slightly above average in their immediate neighbourhood of the Visegrad Four. While trailing behind of the robot average of their closest neighbour Slovakia, they are ahead of Hungary and Poland.

According to the International Robotics Federation the number of newly installed robots in the Czech Republic grew by 40 percent between 2010 and 2015. However, the study warns that growth in robot numbers is not fast enough.

Aside from robotics, HSBC ranks the Czech Republic within a group of emerging markets that are expected to reach the strongest long-term economic growth. It expects the country’s GDP to reach CZK 9 billion by 2030, nearly doubling the Czech Statistical Office’s 2017 estimate of CZK 5 billion.

However, the amount of the Czech population in working age is expected to shrink by 1.5 percent within the next four years.

The study says that the Czechs can also look forward to above average social progress, receiving higher wages and having a better quality of life. However, this does not guarantee a rise in competitiveness.

Meanwhile, the countries expected to grow the fastest and become increasingly competitive include China, India, Bangladesh and Vietnam, say HSBC analysts.