Mexico vs South Africa: Patent applications, nonresidents

Mexico
15,044
in 2021
South Africa
9,156
in 2021
Mexico rank
11th
South Africa rank
14th

Patent applications, nonresidents over time

  • Mexico
  • South Africa
05.0k10.0k15.0k198020002021

How they compare

Mexico currently reports 15,044 against 9,156 in South Africa, a difference of 5,888.

That makes Mexico's figure about 1.6 times South Africa's.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 42 shared years of data; in 1980 it was South Africa ahead.

Mexico ranks 11th and South Africa ranks 14th of 150 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, Mexico averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade Mexico South Africa Difference Ahead
1980s 3,963 5,454 1,491 South Africa
1990s 7,687 5,198 2,490 Mexico
2000s 13,668 5,772 7,896 Mexico
2010s 14,792 6,493 8,299 Mexico
2020s 14,112 7,651 6,461 Mexico

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher patent applications, nonresidents, Mexico or South Africa?
Mexico, at 15,044 against 9,156 in South Africa as of 2021.
What is the difference in patent applications, nonresidents between Mexico and South Africa?
5,888, with Mexico ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Mexico and South Africa?
42 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2021.
How do Mexico and South Africa rank globally for patent applications, nonresidents?
Mexico ranks 11th and South Africa ranks 14th 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

Mexico vs South Africa: 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 20 August 2026, from https://science-tech.statizoid.com/compare/patent-applications-nonresidents/mexico/south-africa/

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/mexico/south-africa/">Mexico vs South Africa: 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.