Joint Replacement Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

Global Joint Replacement Market Trends and Insights

High Osteoarthritis Prevalence

The Global Burden of Disease study counted 607 million osteoarthritis cases in 2021, and forecasts a 75% increase in knee disease by 2050 as people live longer and body-mass-index levels rise. Furthermore, the prevalence of osteoarthritis increases with age. Japan already has 29% of its citizens aged 65 plus, while South Korea will be super-aged in 2025, producing steady joint replacement market demand. Obesity adds complexity and cost, because heavier patients need reinforced implants and face higher revision risk. China’s over-70 cohort is set to reach 402 million by 2050, yet procedure rates remain one-fifth of U.S. levels, creating latent joint replacement market upside once insurance reforms mature. The combined effects of aging, obesity, and broader coverage underpin long-run volume growth, although surgeon shortages and sterile processing capacity could slow uptake in some emerging economies.

Growing Preference for Minimally Invasive and Robotic-Assisted TJA

Robotic total knee arthroplasty reached economic break-even at only 24–50 cases annually in 2024, versus 100-plus in 2020, as platform costs fell and OR times shortened. Community hospitals and ASCs now adopt robots, while vendors bundle implants and software to lock in repeat business. Clinical data show better alignment and lower dislocation rates, pushing payers to reimburse robotic procedures that shorten stays and reduce 90-day readmissions. NICE guidance in 2025 endorsed robotic orthopedics, prompting NHS procurement plans ^{[1]National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, “Robotic-assisted surgery for orthopedic procedures,” nice.org.uk}. As evidence accumulates, hospitals without robotic capacity risk losing referrals, keeping the joint replacement market on a technology-upgrade cycle.

Accelerated Post-Op Rehab Protocols Boosting Outpatient TJA Volumes

CMS added total knee procedures to ASC coverage in 2018 and total hip in 2020; same-day discharge now reaches 30–60% at high-volume U.S. centers ^{[2]Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment,” cms.gov}. Enhanced recovery bundles have trimmed average stays from three days to under 24 hours and cut per-episode costs by up to 60%, making ASCs attractive for low-risk patients. Bundled payments penalize readmissions, so hospitals steer healthier candidates to outpatient facilities and reserve beds for complex cases. The ASC channel, therefore, expands faster than the overall joint replacement market, pressuring implant vendors to supply streamlined, lower-cost instrument sets.

3D-Printed Patient-Specific Implants Cutting Revision Risk

FDA clearances for restor3d’s total talus and 3D Systems’ ankle guides validated additive manufacturing for anatomically challenging joints. Ten-year survivorship for 3D-printed cementless knees hit 98.1% in 2024, beating conventional designs by three points. Because revisions cost up to USD 80,000, payers accept a 15–20% implant premium to avoid failures. Regulatory pathways still differ across regions, but lattice structures that improve bone ingrowth are moving toward ISO standardization, paving the way for broader uptake and sustaining growth in the joint replacement market.

High Procedure & Implant Cost

U.S. total knee arthroplasty costs USD 30,000–50,000, while implants alone run USD 3,000–7,000, limiting access for under-insured groups. Many patients travel to India or Thailand, where procedures cost 70–90% less, diverting volumes from domestic providers. Spending on viscosupplementation and platelet-rich plasma hit USD 2 billion in 2024, even though evidence is inconsistent, causing patients to delay surgery. Payers promote conservative care to defer expense, tempering near-term joint replacement market growth.

Revision-Surgery Burden from Metal Hypersensitivity Claims

Metal-on-metal hips continue to fail, with hypersensitivity in up to 15% of recipients, forcing costly revisions. The FDA spotlighted a 31.8% ten-year failure rate for the Hintermann H3 ankle, heightening regulatory scrutiny. U.S. ethylene-oxide capacity fell 20% after Sterigenics closures, forcing costly freight to offshore sterilizers and delaying shipments. Cobalt price spikes and tight machining capacity expose supply-chain fragility, adding cost and dampening the joint replacement market outlook until redundancy improves.

Segment Analysis

By Procedure: Shoulder Replacement Outpaces Mature Knee Segment

Shoulder procedures are growing at a 5.1% CAGR to 2031 as reverse designs address fractures and revisions once treated non-operatively. FDA clearance of Stryker’s Aequalis Perform+ and Zimmer’s glenoid reconstruction solutions widened indications. Ten-year survivorship reaches 95%, shifting surgeons from anatomic models for patients over 70. Knee replacement still held 40.1% joint replacement market share in 2025 due to consistent Medicare payment, yet its growth slows as U.S. penetration nears northern European saturation levels. Hip arthroplasty benefits from robotic adoption that cuts dislocations by 40%, while ankle and elbow remain niche but may expand as 3D-printed devices solve complex anatomies. 

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Product: Bone Grafts Gain Share as Revision Volumes Climb

Synthetic and allograft substitutes are advancing at 4.9% CAGR as older implants reach end-of-life. FDA clearances for demineralized matrices and calcium phosphate ceramics bolster surgeon confidence ^{[3]U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “510(k) Clearances – Bone Graft Substitutes,” fda.gov}. Improved donor screening lowered infection risk, but tight supply gives tissue banks pricing power. Implants captured 61% of the joint replacement market size in 2025, though share may slip as graft content per case rises. Highly cross-linked polyethylene and ceramic heads halve wear, while single-use instrument kits cut ASC sterilization costs

By Technology: Robotic Platforms Erode Conventional Share

Robotic systems grow at 4.7% CAGR as capital hurdles drop and reimbursement recognizes lower readmissions. NICE approval accelerates European uptake, and U.S. ASCs install robots to attract commercially insured patients. Conventional methods still control 68.2% revenue, but their share declines as hospitals look to shorten stays and align with bundled-payment incentives. Augmented-reality navigation offers a lower-cost alternative for mid-volume centers, yet outcome data remain mixed, limiting immediate impact on the joint replacement market.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By End User: ASCs Capture Share Under Bundled Payments

Ambulatory centers rise 5.2% annually, supported by protocols that discharge patients in under a day and cut costs by half. Roughly 60% of hip and knee candidates meet current ASC criteria, a ceiling likely to expand with better anesthesia. Hospitals keep complex revisions and high-BMI cases, preserving 59.8% revenue in 2025, but must differentiate with robotics and tertiary care to offset volume shifts. Specialty orthopedic centers offer a hybrid model of efficiency and critical-care backup, reinforcing a multi-channel joint replacement market.

Geography Analysis

North America held 45.6% of global revenue in 2025, supported by the United States’ high procedure rate of 7.2 total knee arthroplasties per 1,000 people and the sale of robotic consoles priced above USD 1 million each. After the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services removed total hip arthroplasty from the inpatient-only list in January 2024, more surgeries shifted to outpatient settings, tightening hospital margins and prompting distributor consolidation. Canada’s publicly funded system posted a 12-month median wait for hip replacement in 2024, steering patients to U.S. ambulatory surgery centers near the border. Mexico’s medical-tourism hubs in Tijuana and Monterrey treated 45,000 joint-replacement patients in 2024, offering ISO 13485-certified implants at half of U.S. prices. Regional growth faces a supply pinch because the FDA issued 23 warning letters for excess ethylene oxide residue in 2024, delaying new product launches by up to nine months. 

Asia-Pacific is growing at a 4.5% CAGR, the fastest among all regions. Japan’s super-aged profile—29% of residents were at least 65 in 2024 helped lift total knee procedures to 180,000 that year, a 12% rise since 2020, after reimbursement changes rewarded cementless porous implants. China expanded insurance to cover 95% of urban residents for joint replacement by 2025, adding further momentum. India drew 120,000 overseas patients to Chennai and Mumbai in 2024, thanks to JCI-accredited hospitals and implant prices 60% below Western levels. South Korea’s insurer began paying for reverse shoulder arthroplasty in 2025, opening access for rotator-cuff cases, while Australia cut approval times for robotic systems to nine months in 2024, letting firms launch locally in the same quarter as U.S. and EU clearances.

In Europe, Medical Device Regulation compliance now averages EUR 2 million per product family and extends CE-mark timelines to about two years, slowing growth. Germany and France still perform many hip revisions: the German registry logged 28,000 in 2024, 40% tied to cobalt-chromium debris from older metal-on-metal implants. The United Kingdom’s National Health Service negotiated a 15% price cut on knee implants for 2025, pushing manufacturers to rely on private-pay volumes to protect margins. The Middle East and Africa gain from government spending. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 commits USD 10 billion to build orthopedic centers, aiming for 50,000 annual joint replacements by 2028. South America centers on Brazil, where private insurance covered 27% of citizens in 2024. Public hospitals face wait times longer than 18 months, so private facilities capture demand for premium implants.