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Patent applications by nonresidents

How many patent applications foreign applicants file in a country — a measure of the appeal of its market.

Unit: applications Period: 1980–2021 Source: IP Statistics (WIPO)
Source: WIPO · About the indicator
Average: 5,403 filings Countries: 168

The ranking uses the latest available value for each country — the year is shown in the row. The table spans 1981 to 2021.

Patent applications by nonresidents, 1981–2021

Top-20 · applications

Patent applications by nonresidents, 1981–20210100,000200,000300,000400,000United StatesUnited States: 329,229 filings329,229ChinaChina: 159,019 filings159,019JapanJapan: 66,748 filings66,748South KoreaSouth Korea: 51,753 filings51,753IndiaIndia: 35,306 filings35,306CanadaCanada: 32,445 filings32,445AustraliaAustralia: 29,443 filings29,443Hong KongHong Kong: 21,542 filings21,542BrazilBrazil: 19,566 filings19,566GermanyGermany: 18,747 filings18,747MexicoMexico: 15,044 filings15,044SingaporeSingapore: 12,566 filings12,566RussiaRussia: 11,408 filings11,408South AfricaSouth Africa: 9,156 filings9,156IsraelIsrael: 8,017 filings8,017VietnamVietnam: 7,468 filings7,468IndonesiaIndonesia: 7,403 filings7,403ThailandThailand: 7,375 filings7,375United KingdomUnited Kingdom: 7,263 filings7,263MalaysiaMalaysia: 6,651 filings6,651
Patent applications by nonresidents — 1981–2021 Current breakdown Full series CSV XLSX JSON
# Year Subregion World rank
1 US United States 329,229 2021 1
2 CN China 159,019 2021 2
3 JP Japan 66,748 2021 3
4 KR South Korea 51,753 2021 4
5 IN India 35,306 2021 5
6 CA Canada 32,445 2021 6
7 AU Australia 29,443 2021 7
8 HK Hong Kong 21,542 2021 8
9 BR Brazil 19,566 2021 9
10 DE Germany 18,747 2021 10
11 MX Mexico 15,044 2021 11
12 SG Singapore 12,566 2021 12
13 RU Russia 11,408 2021 13
14 ZA South Africa 9,156 2021 14
15 IL Israel 8,017 2021 15
16 VN Vietnam 7,468 2021 16
17 ID Indonesia 7,403 2021 17
18 TH Thailand 7,375 2021 18
19 GB United Kingdom 7,263 2021 19
20 MY Malaysia 6,651 2021 20
21 NZ New Zealand 6,522 2021 21
22 PH Philippines 3,903 2021 22
23 AR Argentina 3,263 2021 23
24 CL Chile 2,680 2021 24
25 SA Saudi Arabia 2,581 2021 25
26 MA Morocco 2,549 2021 26
27 AE United Arab Emirates 2,354 2021 27
28 UA Ukraine 2,091 2021 28
29 CO Colombia 1,855 2021 29
30 LU Luxembourg 1,441 2021 30
31 NL Netherlands 1,390 2021 31
32 FR France 1,373 2021 32
33 EG Egypt 1,343 2021 33
34 PE Peru 1,141 2021 34
35 IT Italy 797 2021 35
36 QA Qatar 722 2021 36
37 SM San Marino 722 2021 36
38 NO Norway 634 2021 38
39 NG Nigeria 598 2020 39
40 DZ Algeria 581 2021 40
41 IR Iran 581 2021 40
42 PK Pakistan 567 2021 42
43 CR Costa Rica 566 2021 43
44 GR Greece 532 2021 44
45 OM Oman 511 2021 45
46 UY Uruguay 500 2017 46
47 SE Sweden 425 2021 47
48 BE Belgium 415 2021 48
49 PA Panama 401 2021 49
50 BD Bangladesh 373 2021 50
51 EC Ecuador 373 2021 50
52 PY Paraguay 354 2021 52
53 VE Venezuela 338 2017 53
54 BH Bahrain 326 2021 54
55 JO Jordan 322 2021 55
56 LK Sri Lanka 273 2021 56
57 TN Tunisia 271 2018 57
58 CH Switzerland 267 2021 58
59 KW Kuwait 256 2018 59
60 UZ Uzbekistan 252 2021 60
61 GT Guatemala 249 2021 61
62 KH Cambodia 248 2020 62
63 TR Türkiye 242 2021 63
64 BO Bolivia 227 2021 64
65 DO Dominican Republic 220 2021 65
66 LB Lebanon 194 2015 66
67 HN Honduras 188 2021 67
68 DK Denmark 186 2021 68
69 AT Austria 175 2021 69
70 GE Georgia 164 2021 70
71 TT Trinidad and Tobago 149 2021 71
72 NI Nicaragua 145 2014 72
73 SV El Salvador 144 2021 73
74 BN Brunei Darussalam 137 2021 74
75 ES Spain 126 2021 75
76 PL Poland 111 2021 76
77 BY Belarus 110 2021 77
78 CD Democratic Republic of the Congo 110 2020 77
79 AO Angola 108 2019 79
80 FI Finland 105 2021 80
81 IQ Iraq 98 2020 81
82 KZ Kazakhstan 97 2020 82
83 GM Gambia 91 2021 83
84 CU Cuba 86 2021 84
85 MN Mongolia 77 2021 85
86 JM Jamaica 60 2021 86
87 CZ Czechia 59 2021 87
88 LA Laos 58 2018 88
89 ET Ethiopia 54 2020 89
90 BS Bahamas 48 2017 90
91 RO Romania 45 2021 91
92 NP Nepal 43 2017 92
93 IE Ireland 42 2021 93
94 PT Portugal 42 2021 93
95 ME Montenegro 41 2012 95
96 KE Kenya 37 2021 96
97 MO Macao 35 2021 97
98 BB Barbados 31 2019 98
99 PG Papua New Guinea 29 2021 99
100 SC Seychelles 28 2021 100
101 BZ Belize 27 2021 101
102 CG Republic of the Congo 27 1996 101
103 LY Libya 23 1996 103
104 MG Madagascar 22 2021 104
105 YE Yemen 22 2021 104
106 LR Liberia 21 1993 106
107 SY Syria 20 2021 107
108 HT Haiti 19 2014 108
109 GY Guyana 18 2018 109
110 RS Serbia 18 2021 109
111 FJ Fiji 17 1986 111
112 SI Slovenia 17 2021 111
113 AZ Azerbaijan 16 2021 113
114 GD Grenada 16 2021 113
115 MZ Mozambique 16 2021 113
116 MU Mauritius 14 2021 116
117 ST Sao Tome and Principe 14 2021 116
118 HU Hungary 13 2021 118
119 SK Slovakia 13 2021 118
120 ZM Zambia 13 2021 118
121 MD Moldova 12 2021 121
122 NA Namibia 12 2019 121
123 HR Croatia 11 2021 123
124 DM Dominica 11 2021 123
125 VC Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 11 2021 123
126 TV Tuvalu 11 2021 123
127 DJ Djibouti 10 2021 127
128 LT Lithuania 9 2021 128
129 AD Andorra 8 2021 129
130 AG Antigua and Barbuda 8 2021 129
131 AM Armenia 8 2021 129
132 BA Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 2021 129
133 GH Ghana 8 2020 129
134 TJ Tajikistan 8 2020 129
135 BT Bhutan 7 2021 135
136 ML Mali 7 1981 135
137 LC Saint Lucia 7 2001 135
138 SO Somalia 7 1985 135
139 SD Sudan 7 2020 135
140 BG Bulgaria 6 2021 140
141 KP North Korea 6 2020 140
142 BI Burundi 5 2020 142
143 MT Malta 5 2021 142
144 TM Turkmenistan 5 1999 142
145 ZW Zimbabwe 5 2016 142
146 KG Kyrgyzstan 4 2021 146
147 LV Latvia 4 2021 146
148 MK North Macedonia 4 2013 146
149 KN Saint Kitts and Nevis 4 2018 146
150 SL Sierra Leone 4 2020 146
151 UG Uganda 4 2021 146
152 MC Monaco 3 2021 152
153 BW Botswana 2 2020 153
154 CY Cyprus 2 2021 153
155 SZ Eswatini 2 2015 153
156 IS Iceland 2 2021 153
157 KI Kiribati 2 1999 153
158 LS Lesotho 2 1995 153
159 RW Rwanda 2 2021 153
160 WS Samoa 2 2020 153
161 SB Solomon Islands 2 1989 153
162 TO Tonga 2 2021 153
163 AL Albania 1 2021 163
164 CV Cabo Verde 1 2021 163
165 CI Côte d'Ivoire 1 2012 163
166 EE Estonia 1 2021 163
167 MW Malawi 1 2016 163
168 TZ Tanzania 1 2015 163
Nothing found. Check the spelling of the name.
Maximum 329,229 filings
Median 82 filings
Minimum 1 filings
World 1.02M filings

About the indicator

The number of patent applications filed in a country by nonresident applicants. The indicator measures not the inventive activity of the country but the value of its market: a patent has force only where it is granted, so foreign companies file where they intend to sell or where they fear copying. The ratio to applications by residents splits countries into those that invent and those where others file.

Important: A measure of the appeal of a market, not of innovativeness. An application is not a patent: some applications are rejected, and the share of rejections differs across countries.

Updates
annually
Unit of measurement
applications
Observation period
1980–2021
License
CC BY 3.0 IGO
Dataset
IP Statistics Data Center

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