United States vs World: Patent applications, nonresidents

United States
329,229
in 2021
World
1.02 million
in 2021
United States rank
1st
World rank
1st

Patent applications, nonresidents over time

  • United States
  • World
0200.0k400.0k600.0k800.0k1.0M198020002021

How they compare

World currently reports 1.02 million against 329,229 in United States, a difference of 686,671.

That makes World's figure about 3.1 times United States's.

Across all 37 years both countries report, World has been ahead every year.

United States ranks 1st and World ranks 1st of 150 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade United States World Difference Ahead
1980s 63,157 285,940 222,783 World
1990s 96,464 359,240 262,776 World
2000s 180,895 638,670 457,775 World
2010s 292,836 880,750 587,914 World
2020s 328,408 993,150 664,742 World

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher patent applications, nonresidents, United States or World?
World, at 1.02 million against 329,229 in United States as of 2021.
What is the difference in patent applications, nonresidents between United States and World?
686,671, with World ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for United States and World?
37 years are reported by both, from 1985 to 2021.
How do United States and World rank globally for patent applications, nonresidents?
United States ranks 1st and World ranks 1st 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

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.