Inside WRO’s 2025 Annual Report
What happens when a young person discovers they can solve a problem, build something that works, or turn an idea into reality?
For those who participate in WRO, robotics helps them find out.
In 2025, more than 175,000 young people around the world participated in WRO activities. Some built their very first robot. Others developed solutions to real-world challenges. Many discovered skills, confidence, and interests that may shape their future.
The year brought significant growth across the WRO network: over 32,000 teams participated across more than 100 countries, Singapore hosted the largest International Final in WRO history with 595 teams from 91 countries, and WRO launched WRO Learn – a free global learning platform – alongside continued expansion of RoboStarter, helping more young people take their first steps into robotics.
Numbers only tell part of the story.
Behind every team are young people learning to work together, solve problems, and keep going when things do not go as planned. Behind every competition are coaches, judges, volunteers, educators, and National Organizers who give their time and energy to make it happen.
In Uganda, three twelve-year-olds with only months of coding experience designed a solar-powered medical assistant that reads vital signs and identifies illnesses – built for communities where medical care is out of reach. In India, two students aged ten and twelve built a Braille-learning machine to help blind children at a local school study without a teacher having to show them every letter.
These stories may not make headlines, but they show what WRO has always been about.
Young people today need more than technical knowledge. They need creativity, resilience, teamwork, and the confidence to make their ideas happen – skills that robotics can help develop.
In 2025, WRO expanded learning opportunities through WRO Learn, strengthened entry pathways through RoboStarter, and continued to grow as a global community where young people explore robotics, creativity, and problem-solving.
Looking ahead, the ambition is simple: reach more students, strengthen participation where access to STEM education remains limited, and ensure that every young person has the chance to discover what they are capable of.
Because talent is everywhere.
Opportunity is not.
