France vs United Kingdom: Patent applications, residents

France

13,386

in 2021

United Kingdom

11,592

in 2021

France rank

8th

United Kingdom rank

9th

Patent applications, residents over time

France
United Kingdom

How they compare

France currently reports 13,386 against 11,592 in United Kingdom, a difference of 1,794.

That makes France's figure about 1.2 times United Kingdom's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 42 shared years of data; in 1980 it was United Kingdom ahead.

Globally, France ranks 8th and United Kingdom ranks 9th of 135 countries.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Patent applications, residents
Source: WIPO Patent Report: Statistics on Worldwide Patent Activity, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), note: The International Bureau of WIPO assumes no responsibility with respect to the trans
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 147 places, 4,224 data points, 1980–2021
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Patent applications are worldwide patent applications filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty procedure or with a national patent office for exclusive rights for an invention--a product or process that provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem. A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent for a limited period, generally 20 years.