Japan vs North America: Patent applications, residents
Patent applications, residents over time
- Japan
- North America
How they compare
North America currently reports 274,038 against 222,452 in Japan, a difference of 51,586.
That makes North America's figure about 1.2 times Japan's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 39 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Japan ahead.
Japan ranks 3rd and North America ranks 5th of 135 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 3 and North America in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | North America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 268,962 | 69,544 | 199,419 | Japan |
| 1990s | 340,455 | 114,213 | 226,241 | Japan |
| 2000s | 354,413 | 207,963 | 146,450 | Japan |
| 2010s | 268,074 | 282,298 | 14,224 | North America |
| 2020s | 227,348 | 274,038 | 46,690 | North America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher patent applications, residents, Japan or North America?
- North America, at 274,038 against 222,452 in Japan as of 2020.
- What is the difference in patent applications, residents between Japan and North America?
- 51,586, with North America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and North America?
- 39 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2020.
- How do Japan and North America rank globally for patent applications, residents?
- Japan ranks 3rd and North America ranks 5th 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
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.