Statizoid

Patent applications, residents by country

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...

Countries reporting
135
Highest
1.43 million
China
Lowest
1
Samoa
Median
104
Years covered
42
1980–2021
Data points
4,224

What the numbers show

Patent applications, residents is currently reported for 135 countries. The highest value is 1.43 million in China; the lowest is 1 in Samoa.

The median across all reporting countries is 104, and the mean is 17,030.

Over the past decade 60 countries rose and 67 fell. The largest increase was in Guyana (up 3,900.0%), and the largest decrease in Nicaragua (down 92.9%).

Patent applications, residents: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 China 1.43 million 2021 up 243.1% volatile
2 United States 262,244 2021 up 5.9% rising
3 Japan 222,452 2021 down 22.6% falling
4 South Korea 186,245 2021 up 34.9% volatile
5 Germany 39,822 2021 down 15.2% rising
6 India 26,267 2021 up 197.1% volatile
7 Russia 19,569 2021 down 26.1% rising
8 France 13,386 2021 down 8.7% rising
9 United Kingdom 11,592 2021 down 24.4% falling
10 Italy 10,281 2021 up 16.9% rising
11 Iran 10,210 2021 down 11.4% volatile
12 Turkey 8,234 2021 up 111.9% volatile
13 North Korea 6,937 2020 down 13.5% rising
14 Canada 4,710 2021 down 0.9% rising
15 Brazil 4,666 2021 down 0.6% rising
16 Poland 3,377 2021 down 12.9% falling
17 Australia 2,966 2021 up 24.5% rising
18 Netherlands 2,080 2021 down 19.5% rising
19 Singapore 2,024 2021 up 91.7% volatile
20 Austria 1,872 2021 down 13.1% flat
21 South Africa 1,804 2021 up 175.0% volatile
22 Sweden 1,771 2021 down 11.6% falling
23 Israel 1,592 2021 up 17.1% rising
24 Finland 1,557 2021 down 5.6% falling
25 Saudi Arabia 1,398 2021 up 302.9% volatile
26 Indonesia 1,397 2021 up 162.1% volatile
27 Spain 1,308 2021 down 61.9% rising
28 Ukraine 1,302 2021 down 50.8% volatile
29 Switzerland 1,288 2021 down 19.3% falling
30 Mexico 1,117 2021 up 4.9% rising
31 Denmark 1,090 2021 down 30.7% rising
32 Vietnam 1,066 2021 up 255.3% volatile
33 Norway 946 2021 down 15.7% rising
34 Malaysia 883 2021 down 17.9% volatile
35 Egypt 881 2021 up 42.6% volatile
36 Thailand 867 2021 down 6.5% volatile
37 Kazakhstan 803 2020 down 52.5% falling
38 Belgium 799 2021 up 25.6% rising
39 Romania 772 2021 down 45.8% volatile
40 Portugal 711 2021 up 24.5% volatile
41 Iraq 635 2020 up 89.6% volatile
42 Czechia 541 2021 down 30.9% rising
43 Philippines 490 2021 up 163.4% volatile
44 Hungary 433 2021 down 34.6% volatile
45 Colombia 432 2021 up 136.1% volatile
46 Pakistan 426 2021 up 363.0% volatile
47 Uzbekistan 413 2021 up 46.5% volatile
48 Nigeria 410 2020 up 540.6% volatile
49 Argentina 406 2021 down 41.0% falling
50 Chile 402 2021 up 18.6% rising
51 Hong Kong 401 2021 up 121.5% volatile
52 Greece 394 2021 down 45.4% volatile
53 New Zealand 330 2021 down 78.0% rising
54 Belarus 276 2021 down 84.0% falling
55 Algeria 268 2021 up 185.1% volatile
56 Sri Lanka 266 2021 up 37.1% volatile
57 Morocco 254 2021 up 50.3% volatile
58 Slovenia 222 2021 down 52.8% rising
59 Tunisia 180 2018 up 136.8% volatile
60 Bulgaria 165 2021 down 37.0% volatile
61 Kenya 160 2021 up 18.5% volatile
62 Sudan 153 2020 down 39.3% volatile
63 Slovakia 146 2021 down 34.8% falling
64 Serbia 138 2021 down 23.3% falling
65 Azerbaijan 119 2021 down 38.3% falling
66 Luxembourg 112 2021 up 31.8% volatile
67 Mongolia 109 2021 down 0.9% rising
68 Latvia 104 2021 down 39.9% falling
69 Syria 102 2021 down 48.5% volatile
70 Venezuela 96 2017 up 52.4% volatile
71 Peru 94 2021 up 141.0% rising
72 Georgia 90 2021 down 34.8% falling
73 Kyrgyzstan 83 2021 down 33.1% falling
74 Lithuania 81 2021 down 12.9% volatile
75 Croatia 77 2021 down 66.5% falling
76 Ireland 75 2021 down 5.1% volatile
77 Bangladesh 74 2021 up 100.0% rising
78 Barbados 73 2021 up 2,333.3% volatile
79 United Arab Emirates 69 2021 up 109.1% rising
80 Moldova 64 2021 down 34.0% volatile
81 Bosnia and Herzegovina 53 2021 up 23.3% rising
82 Qatar 47 2021 up 1,466.7% volatile
83 North Macedonia 42 2021 up 13.5% falling
84 Armenia 40 2021 down 66.9% falling
84 Guyana 40 2021 up 3,900.0% volatile
86 Ecuador 35 2021 up 775.0% volatile
86 Panama 35 2021 up 66.7% volatile
88 Iceland 34 2021 down 32.0% rising
89 Mozambique 30 2021 up 275.0% volatile
89 Oman 30 2021 up 500.0% volatile
91 Estonia 25 2021 down 59.7% volatile
91 Jordan 25 2021 down 37.5% falling
93 Albania 23 2021 up 666.7% volatile
93 Uruguay 23 2017 down 34.3% falling
95 Cuba 21 2021 down 66.1% volatile
96 Nepal 20 2017 up 150.0% volatile
96 Yemen 20 2021 up 185.7% volatile
98 Jamaica 16 2021 down 20.0% volatile
99 Costa Rica 15 2021 up 15.4% falling
100 Rwanda 14 2021 down 65.0% volatile
100 Uganda 14 2021 up 40.0% volatile
102 Zambia 13 2021 up 333.3% volatile
103 Libya 12 1996 up 300.0% volatile
104 Paraguay 10 2021 down 44.4% volatile
105 Guatemala 9 2021 up 125.0% volatile
106 Honduras 8 2018 up 300.0% volatile
106 Namibia 8 2019 — volatile
106 Zimbabwe 8 2016 — falling
109 Dominican Republic 7 2021 down 53.3% flat
109 San Marino 7 2021 down 36.4% rising
111 Ethiopia 6 2020 up 50.0% volatile
111 Madagascar 6 2021 up 100.0% volatile
111 Mauritius 6 2021 up 500.0% volatile
114 Bolivia 5 2021 down 44.4% volatile
114 Monaco 5 2021 down 16.7% volatile
114 Malta 5 2021 down 44.4% volatile
114 Montenegro 5 2020 down 78.3% volatile
118 Bahamas 4 2017 up 33.3% flat
119 Bahrain 3 2021 up 200.0% volatile
119 Botswana 3 2021 up 200.0% volatile
119 Malawi 3 2016 — volatile
122 Burundi 2 2020 — rising
122 Burkina Faso 2 2010 unchanged falling
122 Brunei 2 2021 down 90.0% volatile
122 Haiti 2 2014 up 100.0% volatile
122 Macao 2 2021 down 50.0% volatile
122 El Salvador 2 2021 down 71.4% volatile
122 Trinidad and Tobago 2 2021 unchanged volatile
129 Bhutan 1 2019 down 66.7% volatile
129 Cape Verde 1 2021 down 50.0% falling
129 Cyprus 1 2021 down 75.0% volatile
129 Laos 1 2018 unchanged volatile
129 Nicaragua 1 2014 down 92.9% volatile
129 Tajikistan 1 2019 down 90.9% volatile
129 Samoa 1 2021 unchanged falling

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

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

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.