South Korea vs United States: Patent applications, residents
Patent applications, residents over time
- South Korea
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 270,295 against 195,786 in South Korea, a difference of 74,509.
That makes United States's figure about 1.4 times South Korea's.
Across all 45 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
South Korea ranks 4th and United States ranks 2nd of 139 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 3,164 | 66,380 | 63,215 | United States |
| 1990s | 38,985 | 111,226 | 72,242 | United States |
| 2000s | 104,947 | 196,372 | 91,425 | United States |
| 2010s | 156,597 | 285,697 | 129,100 | United States |
| 2020s | 187,480 | 278,577 | 91,098 | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher patent applications, residents, South Korea or United States?
- United States, at 270,295 against 195,786 in South Korea as of 2024.
- What is the difference in patent applications, residents between South Korea and United States?
- 74,509, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and United States?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2024.
- How do South Korea and United States rank globally for patent applications, residents?
- South Korea ranks 4th 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.