Japan vs United States: Patent applications, residents
Patent applications, residents over time
- Japan
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 270,295 against 237,169 in Japan, a difference of 33,126.
That makes United States's figure about 1.1 times Japan's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 43 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Japan ahead.
Japan ranks 3rd and United States ranks 2nd of 139 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 | 196,372 | 158,041 | Japan |
| 2010s | 268,074 | 285,697 | 17,623 | United States |
| 2020s | 226,944 | 278,577 | 51,634 | 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 270,295 against 237,169 in Japan as of 2024.
- What is the difference in patent applications, residents between Japan and United States?
- 33,126, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States?
- 43 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2024.
- How do Japan and United States rank globally for patent applications, residents?
- Japan ranks 3rd and United States ranks 2nd 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.