Country rankings

World Intellectual Property Indicators by Country

China has the highest Patent Applications in 2024 (1,828,054), followed by United States (603,194) and Japan (306,855). Nauru has the lowest (1).

Tech & Business172 countries · 3 metricsUpdated Dec 4, 2025Original page
3 sources
129 of 235 countries
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Patent Applications, 2024

Darker green is better (higher is better). Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 129 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median
393
Middle half 48 – 2.9K
Average
27,190
129 countries
Highest
1,828,054
China
Lowest
1
Nauru

Biggest changes · 2023 → 2024

116 countries have a value in both years.

Improved most

Declined most

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

168 countries · # = rank by Patent Applications
#
1China1,828,0548.6M1.4M
2United States603,1942M366.7K
3Japan306,855549K91.7K
4South Korea246,245449.6K103.2K
5India105,157499.7K22.4K
6Germany59,2622.6M489.5K
7Canada35,374202.1K15.4K
8Australia30,487224.2K15.9K
9Russia26,698447.2K10.8K
10Brazil25,597380.5K8,097
11United Kingdom18,9521.1M131.4K
12Mexico16,189162.8K1,439
13Hong Kong15,940112.3K25.1K
14France14,1291.2M217.6K
15Singapore13,421109.3K6,519
16Indonesia10,902113.2K3,708
17Turkey10,351579.5K94.8K
18Italy10,3081.2M369.3K
19Vietnam9,90492.1K2,755
20South Africa8,89932.2K1,714
21Thailand8,72739K4,149
22Iran8,657357.7K8,170
23Israel8,26249K10.1K
24Saudi Arabia8,02940K968
25North Korea6,9365,234—
26New Zealand5,96248.8K6,666
27Philippines4,57138.4K685
28Luxembourg3,83388.8K6,304
29United Arab Emirates3,59860.2K1,326
30Argentina3,59183.2K1,583
31Poland3,453477.7K155.8K
32Chile3,21953.5K92
33Morocco2,89952.4K5,082
34Ukraine2,55946.7K3,000
35Sweden2,147352.8K48.7K
36Colombia1,93161K783
37Egypt1,83543.1K2,069
37Austria1,835361.9K58.7K
39Finland1,829152.5K20K
40Switzerland1,462518.1K116.2K
41Algeria1,41312.3K855
42Peru1,29531.3K117
43Spain1,294789K118.4K
44Norway1,27179K6,936
45Denmark1,191171.3K44.6K
46Qatar1,1308,241—
47Kazakhstan1,12118.3K231
48Belgium1,059250.1K34.7K
49Pakistan97940K467
50Greece926—11.8K
51Oman8558,074108
52Romania810162.2K14.4K
53Portugal796146.3K23.9K
54Uzbekistan75813.9K236
55Kuwait6837,80117
56Iraq6381,193—
57Hungary59363.9K6,274
58San Marino533—605
59Czechia501173.2K25.3K
60Costa Rica45312K4
61Tunisia4405,760547
62Sri Lanka4346,980361
63Ecuador42415.4K89
64Uruguay4148,386—
65Bahrain3931,94535
66Bangladesh3899,4391,225
67Paraguay38114.8K1
68Panama294——
69Jordan2826,366251
70Venezuela2608,32919
71Guatemala247—19
72Azerbaijan2438,60296
73Lebanon223——
74Dominican Republic21312.1K64
75Georgia1893,750247
76Bulgaria186131.5K28.7K
76Mongolia18610.4K1,088
78Slovenia17953.6K7,638
79Honduras1773,0621
79Slovakia17753.8K3,808
81Cambodia151—1
81Serbia15114.1K685
83El Salvador1445,44120
84Brunei138227—
85Tanzania132——
85Ireland132—9,799
87Syria104—451
88Ethiopia1001,92460
89Trinidad and Tobago941,44312
90Latvia8726.1K2,481
91Kyrgyzstan7498120
92Angola68—46
92Croatia6836.3K5,281
94Lithuania6361.6K5,055
95Macau573,10814
96Laos48—1
96Jamaica48—154
98Bosnia and Herzegovina472,035172
99Iceland435,747—
100Cuba424,161—
101Moldova405,257528
102Mozambique3978852
102Zimbabwe391,34138
104Zambia321,26481
105Estonia3070.4K4,845
106North Macedonia268,860265
107Madagascar253,441338
108Uganda232,18656
108Belize23——
110Malta2267.8K4,802
111Botswana20—5
111Guyana20117—
113Armenia198,278129
114Montenegro16—2
115Mauritius145,798115
116Andorra118,885—
117Namibia948838
118Bhutan693—
119Tonga554
120Saint Vincent and the Grenadines4601—
120Antigua and Barbuda41,555—
122Cyprus382K4,604
122Saint Kitts and Nevis3——
124Liberia2——
124Cape Verde2110—
124Dominica219—
124Monaco216K229
128Vanuatu13626
128Nauru1——
—Kenya—5,47599
—Yemen—3,70256
—Malaysia—27.7K990
—Ghana—1,097673
—Ivory Coast—14.7K3,074
—Cameroon—11.2K426
—Niger—809—
—Mali—3,514121
—Burkina Faso—3,270136
—Chad—12951
—Somalia—30—
—Senegal—9,702493
—Netherlands—582.2K92K
—Guinea—4,1751,020
—Benin—2,67751
—Rwanda—7775
—Bolivia—4,91031
—Papua New Guinea—112—
—Togo—3,39034
—Sierra Leone—237—
—Belarus—7,985670
—Republic of the Congo—421—
—Central African Republic—9717
—Mauritania—98234
—Gambia—405—
—Albania—1,655778
—Gabon—1,29985
—Guinea-Bissau—39185
—Equatorial Guinea—459—
—Djibouti—529
—Comoros—36—
—Suriname—116—
—Barbados—2,646—
—Sao Tome and Principe—48—
—Samoa—8809
—Curacao—4,315—
—Seychelles—4,641—
—Grenada—10—
—Liechtenstein—12.7K2,853

What correlates with Patent Applications (2024)?

Pearson r against 1,579 other country metrics sharing at least 78 countries. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Patent Applications tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

  1. Resident Patent GrantsPatents by Country
    r = +0.99 · very strong · n = 102
    Plot
  2. Patent Grants ResidentInventions by Country
    r = +0.99 · very strong · n = 93
    Plot
  3. Patent GrantsInventions by Country
    r = +0.99 · very strong · n = 104
    Plot
  4. Resident Patent ApplicationsPatents by Country
    r = +0.99 · very strong · n = 117
    Plot
  5. Solar Power CapacitySolar Power by Country
    r = +0.98 · very strong · n = 124
    Plot
  6. Electricity ConsumptionEnergy Consumption by Country
    r = +0.98 · very strong · n = 126
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Patent Applications tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

  1. US Trade BalanceUS Trade Deficit by Country
    r = −0.56 · strong · n = 128
    Plot
  2. LI Users Aged 18-24LinkedIn Users by Country
    r = −0.32 · moderate · n = 125
    Plot
  3. Visa Ease RankEasiest Countries to Immigrate ToA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = −0.30 · moderate · n = 83
    Plot
  4. Oldest Park Founding YearNational Parks by Country
    r = −0.26 · weak · n = 88
    Plot
  5. Land & Resource Sustainability Rank (US News)Most Environmentally Friendly CountriesA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = −0.23 · weak · n = 91
    Plot
  6. Natural Environment Rank (US News)Most Environmentally Friendly CountriesA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = −0.21 · weak · n = 91
    Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Patent Applications?
China has the highest Patent Applications in 2024, at 1,828,054, followed by United States (603,194) and Japan (306,855).
Which country has the lowest Patent Applications?
Nauru has the lowest Patent Applications in 2024, at 1.
What is the median Patent Applications across countries?
The median is 393 across the 129 countries with data in 2024.
Where does this world intellectual property indicators by country data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: World Intellectual Property Indicators 2024 - WIPO; World Intellectual Property Indicators 2023 - WIPO; World Intellectual Property Indicators 2022 - WIPO.

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