South Korea vs North America: Patent applications, nonresidents

South Korea
51,753
in 2021
North America
357,699
in 2020
South Korea rank
4th
North America rank
3rd

Patent applications, nonresidents over time

  • South Korea
  • North America
0100.0k200.0k300.0k400.0k198020002021

How they compare

North America currently reports 357,699 against 51,753 in South Korea, a difference of 305,946.

That makes North America's figure about 6.9 times South Korea's.

Across all 41 years both countries report, North America has been ahead every year.

South Korea ranks 4th and North America ranks 3rd of 150 countries.

North America has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Korea North America Difference Ahead
1980s 8,345 79,894 71,550 North America
1990s 19,477 121,879 102,402 North America
2000s 35,578 215,798 180,219 North America
2010s 44,311 323,999 279,688 North America
2020s 46,282 357,699 311,417 North America

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher patent applications, nonresidents, South Korea or North America?
North America, at 357,699 against 51,753 in South Korea as of 2020.
What is the difference in patent applications, nonresidents between South Korea and North America?
305,946, with North America ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and North America?
41 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2020.
How do South Korea and North America rank globally for patent applications, nonresidents?
South Korea ranks 4th and North America ranks 3rd of 150 countries.
Where does this data come from?
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, published as Patent applications, nonresidents. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

South Korea vs North America: Patent applications, nonresidents. Statizoid, drawing on 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. Retrieved 03 October 2026, from https://science-tech.statizoid.com/compare/patent-applications-nonresidents/korea-rep/north-america/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://science-tech.statizoid.com/compare/patent-applications-nonresidents/korea-rep/north-america/">South Korea vs North America: Patent applications, nonresidents</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Patent applications, nonresidents
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
162 places, 4,548 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.