Japan vs South Korea: Patent applications, residents
Patent applications, residents over time
- Japan
- South Korea
How they compare
Japan currently reports 237,169 against 195,786 in South Korea, a difference of 41,383.
That makes Japan's figure about 1.2 times South Korea's.
Across all 43 years both countries report, Japan has been ahead every year.
Japan ranks 3rd and South Korea ranks 4th of 139 countries.
Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 268,962 | 3,596 | 265,366 | Japan |
| 1990s | 340,455 | 38,985 | 301,470 | Japan |
| 2000s | 354,413 | 104,947 | 249,466 | Japan |
| 2010s | 268,074 | 156,597 | 111,477 | Japan |
| 2020s | 226,944 | 187,480 | 39,464 | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher patent applications, residents, Japan or South Korea?
- Japan, at 237,169 against 195,786 in South Korea as of 2024.
- What is the difference in patent applications, residents between Japan and South Korea?
- 41,383, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and South Korea?
- 43 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2024.
- How do Japan and South Korea rank globally for patent applications, residents?
- Japan ranks 3rd and South Korea ranks 4th of 139 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
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.