Germany vs United States: Patent applications, residents

Germany
39,822
in 2021
United States
262,244
in 2021
Germany rank
5th
United States rank
2nd

Patent applications, residents over time

  • Germany
  • United States
0100.0k200.0k300.0k198020002021

How they compare

United States currently reports 262,244 against 39,822 in Germany, a difference of 222,422.

That makes United States's figure about 6.6 times Germany's.

Across all 42 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.

Germany ranks 5th and United States ranks 2nd of 135 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade Germany United States Difference Ahead
1980s 31,188 66,380 35,191 United States
1990s 38,978 111,226 72,248 United States
2000s 48,692 203,253 154,561 United States
2010s 47,306 277,921 230,615 United States
2020s 41,041 265,915 224,874 United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher patent applications, residents, Germany or United States?
United States, at 262,244 against 39,822 in Germany as of 2021.
What is the difference in patent applications, residents between Germany and United States?
222,422, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and United States?
42 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2021.
How do Germany and United States rank globally for patent applications, residents?
Germany ranks 5th and United States ranks 2nd of 135 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, residents. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Patent applications, residents
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
147 places, 4,224 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.