North America vs United States: Patent applications, residents
Patent applications, residents over time
- North America
- United States
How they compare
North America currently reports 274,038 against 262,244 in United States, a difference of 11,794.
Across all 41 years both countries report, North America has been ahead every year.
North America ranks 5th and United States ranks 2nd of 12 groups.
North America has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | North America | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 68,623 | 66,380 | 2,244 | North America |
| 1990s | 114,213 | 111,226 | 2,987 | North America |
| 2000s | 207,963 | 203,253 | 4,710 | North America |
| 2010s | 282,298 | 277,921 | 4,377 | North America |
| 2020s | 274,038 | 269,586 | 4,452 | North America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher patent applications, residents, North America or United States?
- North America, at 274,038 against 262,244 in United States as of 2020.
- What is the difference in patent applications, residents between North America and United States?
- 11,794, with North America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for North America and United States?
- 41 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2020.
- How do North America and United States rank globally for patent applications, residents?
- North America ranks 5th and United States ranks 2nd of 12 groups.
- 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.