Japan vs United States: Patent applications, residents

Japan
222,452
in 2021
United States
262,244
in 2021
Japan rank
3rd
United States rank
2nd

Patent applications, residents over time

  • Japan
  • United States
100.0k200.0k300.0k400.0k198020002021

How they compare

United States currently reports 262,244 against 222,452 in Japan, a difference of 39,792.

That makes United States's figure about 1.2 times Japan's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 40 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Japan ahead.

Japan ranks 3rd and United States ranks 2nd of 135 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 3 and United States in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Japan United States Difference Ahead
1980s 268,962 67,259 201,703 Japan
1990s 340,455 111,226 229,228 Japan
2000s 354,413 203,253 151,160 Japan
2010s 268,074 277,921 9,847 United States
2020s 224,900 265,915 41,015 United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher patent applications, residents, Japan or United States?
United States, at 262,244 against 222,452 in Japan as of 2021.
What is the difference in patent applications, residents between Japan and United States?
39,792, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States?
40 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2021.
How do Japan and United States rank globally for patent applications, residents?
Japan ranks 3rd 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.