SOTWStatistics of the World

Patent Applications by Country 2024

Patent applications filed by residents of each country with its national patent office, with applications filed there by non-residents beside them.

China has the highest patent applications by residents: 1.7M in 2024. Next are the United States (270,295), Japan (237,169), South Korea (195,786) and India (63,217). 14 countries share the lowest patent applications by residents, 1 (Vanuatu, Tajikistan, Seychelles, Samoa and others). The median across the 145 countries is 87, counting each country once, so it is not a world average.

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators. 145 of 217 countries and territories have a figure. 121 of 145 countries show 2024; the other 24 show their latest available year (2017 to 2023).

Highest
1.7M
China, 2024
Lowest
1
14 countries share it, 2019 to 2024
Median
87
Counting each country once, so it is not a world average
Coverage
145 of 217
Countries and territories with a figure; mostly 2024 data
Sum of the table
2.6M
Sum of 121 countries with 2024 figures, not an official world figure
Patent Applications by Country: 2024 Rankings: 145 countries and territories ranked by patent applications by residents, with the year of each figure.
#CountryResident applicationsYearNon-resident applications
1China1.7M2024156,053
2United States270,2952024332,899
3Japan237,169202469,686
4South Korea195,786202450,459
5India63,217202441,940
6Germany40,085202419,177
7Russia21,50220245,196
8France12,75120241,378
9United Kingdom11,10520247,847
10Türkiye10,0042024347
11Italy9,12020241,188
12Iran8,3142024343
13North Korea6,936202462020
14Brazil5,752202419,845
15Canada4,304202431,070
16Poland3,363202490
17Saudi Arabia3,10820244,921
18Australia2,542202427,945
19Indonesia1,93120248,971
20Singapore1,898202411,523
21Sweden1,8512024296
22Netherlands1,78120241,266
23Finland1,770202459
24Austria1,6762024159
25Israel1,44820246,814
26Vietnam1,22620248,678
27Switzerland1,1912024271
28Mexico1,172202415,017
29Spain1,1602024134
30Algeria1,0842024329
31Denmark9872024204
32Ukraine96920241,590
33Thailand93020247,797
34Philippines87320243,698
35Kazakhstan8412024280
35Malaysia84120246,356
37Romania747202463
38Portugal743202453
39Norway7322024539
40Belgium6472024412
41Egypt56320241,272
42Iraq556202482
43Uzbekistan5072024251
44Hong Kong495202415,445
45Hungary4802024113
45Pakistan4802024499
47Czechia463202438
48Argentina44520243,146
49Nigeria4102020598
50Kenya396202438
51Chile39020242,829
52Greece3662024560
53South Africa35020248,549
54Morocco34320242,556
55New Zealand27820245,684
55United Arab Emirates27820243,320
57Colombia27020241,661
58Belarus256202447
59Sri Lanka2532024181
60Tunisia2252024215
61Peru21420241,081
62Azerbaijan194202449
63Bulgaria17920247
64Slovakia167202410
65Slovenia154202425
66Sudan15320207
67Serbia139202412
68Luxembourg11920243,714
69Syria1042024232023
70Oman982024757
71Georgia94202495
72Mongolia89202497
73Bangladesh872024302
74Latvia8420243
75DR Congo722020110
76Ireland68202464
77Kyrgyzstan6720247
78Ethiopia66202434
79Venezuela632024197
80Croatia6220246
81Lithuania5820245
82Ecuador532024371
83Iceland3820245
84Moldova3520245
85Bosnia and Herzegovina34202413
86Kuwait302024653
87Estonia2720243
88Zimbabwe26202413
89North Macedonia2520241
90Uganda2220241
91Qatar2120241,109
92Nepal20201743
93Zambia18202414
94Costa Rica152024438
94Montenegro1520241
94Paraguay152024366
97Jordan142024268
98Armenia1320246
98Uruguay132024401
100Cuba12202430
100San Marino122024521
102Dominican Republic112024202
102Panama112024283
102Yemen1120236
105Bolivia102022216
105Botswana102023202024
105Mozambique10202429
108Albania920231
108Malta9202413
110Guatemala82024239
110Honduras820181772024
110Macao8202449
110Rwanda820243
114Mauritius720247
115Bahrain62024387
115Bhutan62024122023
115El Salvador62024138
115Ghana6202314
119Antigua and Barbuda5201842024
119Tonga5202462023
121Bahamas4201748
122Cyprus3202422022
122Djibouti3202172022
122Jamaica3202445
122Madagascar3202422
122Trinidad and Tobago3202491
127Angola22019108
127Guyana2202418
127Liberia220241582023
127Monaco2202422023
127St. Lucia22018n/a
132Andorra1202410
132Barbados12022122024
132Brunei12024137
132Burundi1202212023
132Cabo Verde120241
132Cambodia12024150
132Laos12023482024
132Lesotho12019n/a
132Namibia120248
132Papua New Guinea1202231
132Samoa1202122023
132Seychelles1202314
132Tajikistan1201932022
132Vanuatu1202112024

Each figure is the latest available for that country, so rows can refer to different years; compare years before comparing values. n/a means the source has no figure for that country in that column. Values are rounded for display; the CSV download has full precision.

72 countries and territories have no figure

Afghanistan, American Samoa, Aruba, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Channel Islands, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Curaçao, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gibraltar, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Isle of Man, Kiribati, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, Republic of the Congo, Saint Martin, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sint Maarten, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Tanzania, The Gambia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Bank and Gaza.

World map of patent applications by residents, mostly 2024 data. Source: World Bank World Development Indicators.
Highest: China 1.7M (2024), United States 270,295 (2024), Japan 237,169 (2024). Source: World Bank World Development Indicators. 16 ranked countries are too small for the map's outlines and drawn as a dot at the capital. Shapes show location only.
Embed this map
<a href="https://statisticsoftheworld.com/patent-applications-by-country"><img src="https://statisticsoftheworld.com/maps/IP.PAT.RESD.svg" width="960" height="500" alt="World map of patent applications by residents, mostly 2024 data. Source: World Bank World Development Indicators."></a>
<p>Source: World Bank World Development Indicators. Map: <a href="https://statisticsoftheworld.com/patent-applications-by-country">Statistics of the World</a></p>

Then and now

China2000: 25,3462024: 1.7MUnited States2000: 151,7642024: 270,295Japan2000: 387,3642024: 237,169South Korea2000: 72,8312024: 195,786India2000: 2,2062024: 63,217Germany2000: 51,7362024: 40,085
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators. Years 2000 to 2024; each panel has its own scale.

By region

patent applications by residents by World Bank region: countries with a figure, highest, lowest and median.
RegionCountriesHighestLowestMedian, each country counted onceSum of same-year figures
East Asia & Pacific22China (1.7M)6 countries at 16682.1M (18 countries, 2024)
Europe & Central Asia50Germany (40,085)Andorra (1) and Tajikistan (1, 2019)225126,687 (48 countries, 2024)
Latin America & Caribbean25Brazil (5,752)Barbados (1, 2022)118,458 (19 countries, 2024)
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan19Iran (8,314)Djibouti (3, 2021)22516,681 (17 countries, 2024)
North America2United States (270,295)Canada (4,304)137,300274,599 (2 countries, 2024)
South Asia5India (63,217)Bhutan (6)8763,563 (4 countries, 2024)
Sub-Saharan Africa22Nigeria (410, 2020)5 countries at 19910 (13 countries, 2024)

A regional sum adds the countries with 2024 figures; it is not an official regional figure.

Where major economies rank

  • United States: 270,295 in 2024, rank 2 of 145.
  • China: 1.7M in 2024, rank 1 of 145.
  • India: 63,217 in 2024, rank 5 of 145.
  • Japan: 237,169 in 2024, rank 3 of 145.
  • Germany: 40,085 in 2024, rank 6 of 145.
  • United Kingdom: 11,105 in 2024, rank 9 of 145.
  • France: 12,751 in 2024, rank 8 of 145.
  • Brazil: 5,752 in 2024, rank 14 of 145.
  • Canada: 4,304 in 2024, rank 15 of 145.
  • Nigeria: 410 in 2020, rank 49 of 145.

Compare these economies side by side

About patent applications

The figures come from the World Intellectual Property Organization, published by the World Bank. Resident applications are filed by inventors and companies based in the country; non-resident applications are filed in the country by applicants based elsewhere, which shows how much foreign firms want protection in that market.

Patent offices differ in what they accept and how they count, and an application is not a granted patent, so the number of applications is a rough measure of inventive activity. European countries’ applicants often file with the European Patent Office instead of their national office, which these figures do not count.

About these figures

Definition. 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. (The publisher's definition of “Patent applications, residents”, copied from the World Bank (World Development Indicators) on 2026-09-07.)

Unit. patent applications

Coverage. 145 of 217 countries and territories have a figure. 121 of 145 countries show 2024; the other 24 show their latest available year (2017 to 2023).

The median and any other summary on this page count each country once, so they are not world averages. Values are rounded for display; the CSV download has full precision.

The publisher revises past years when it updates the series, so a figure here can change after it first appears.

Questions about these figures

Which country has the highest patent applications by residents?

China has the highest patent applications by residents: 1.7M in 2024. The figures come from the World Bank World Development Indicators.

Which country has the lowest patent applications by residents?

14 countries share the lowest patent applications by residents, 1 (Vanuatu, Tajikistan, Seychelles, Samoa and others). Their figures are for 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

How many countries are ranked, and for which years?

145 countries and territories have a figure in this ranking. 121 of 145 countries show 2024; the other 24 show their latest available year (2017 to 2023).

What is the median patent applications by residents across countries?

The median is 87: half of the 145 countries are above it and half below. The most common year of the figures is 2024. It counts each country once, so it is not a world average.

How much of the combined total do the largest countries account for?

Among the 121 countries with 2024 figures, the ten largest account for 96.9% of their combined total.

Where does the United States rank on patent applications by residents?

The United States ranks 2 of 145, at 270,295 in 2024.

Which country has the highest patent applications by residents in each region?

East Asia & Pacific: China (1.7M); Europe & Central Asia: Germany (40,085); Latin America & Caribbean: Brazil (5,752); Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan: Iran (8,314); North America: the United States (270,295); South Asia: India (63,217); Sub-Saharan Africa: Nigeria (410, 2020). Figures are for 2024 unless another year is shown. Regions follow the World Bank's groups.

Use and cite this data

  • The download button above saves this table's rows as CSV, filtered and in the order shown. The API also serves this indicator as CSV: statisticsoftheworld.com/api/v1/rankings/IP.PAT.RESD?format=csv. It lists the stored latest figures highest first under the publisher's country names and can include the World aggregate, so its rows and ranks can differ from this table.
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Statistics of the World. Patent Applications by Country: 2024 Rankings. Data: World Bank World Development Indicators, figures for 2017 to 2024. https://statisticsoftheworld.com/patent-applications-by-country