China (People’s Republic of) vs United Kingdom: Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent applications

China (People’s Republic of)
13,210 Patents
in 2023
United Kingdom
4,653 Patents
in 2023
China (People’s Republic of) rank
4th
United Kingdom rank
3rd

Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent applications over time

  • China (People’s Republic of)
  • United Kingdom
05.0k10.0k15.0k20.0k197820002023

How they compare

China (People’s Republic of) currently reports 13,210 Patents against 4,653 Patents in United Kingdom, a difference of 8,557 Patents.

That makes China (People’s Republic of)'s figure about 2.8 times United Kingdom's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 46 shared years of data; in 1978 it was United Kingdom ahead.

China (People’s Republic of) ranks 4th and United Kingdom ranks 3rd of 88 countries.

Across the 6 decades both report, China (People’s Republic of) averaged higher in 2 and United Kingdom in 4.

Head to head by decade

Decade China (People’s Republic of) United Kingdom Difference Ahead
1970s 0 Patents 755.15 Patents 755.15 Patents United Kingdom
1980s 11.35 Patents 2,661 Patents 2,650 Patents United Kingdom
1990s 30.78 Patents 3,376 Patents 3,345 Patents United Kingdom
2000s 918.78 Patents 4,583 Patents 3,664 Patents United Kingdom
2010s 7,776 Patents 4,908 Patents 2,868 Patents China (People’s Republic of)
2020s 16,864 Patents 5,127 Patents 11,737 Patents China (People’s Republic of)

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher patents in oecd selected technologies — patent applications, China (People’s Republic of) or United Kingdom?
China (People’s Republic of), at 13,210 Patents against 4,653 Patents in United Kingdom as of 2023.
What is the difference in patents in oecd selected technologies — patent applications between China (People’s Republic of) and United Kingdom?
8,557 Patents, with China (People’s Republic of) ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China (People’s Republic of) and United Kingdom?
46 years are reported by both, from 1978 to 2023.
How do China (People’s Republic of) and United Kingdom rank globally for patents in oecd selected technologies — patent applications?
China (People’s Republic of) ranks 4th and United Kingdom ranks 3rd of 88 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent applications. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

China (People’s Republic of) vs United Kingdom: Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent applications. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://science-tech.statizoid.com/compare/patents-in-oecd-selected-technologies-patent-applications/china/united-kingdom-2/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://science-tech.statizoid.com/compare/patents-in-oecd-selected-technologies-patent-applications/china/united-kingdom-2/">China (People’s Republic of) vs United Kingdom: Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent applications</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent applications
Unit
Patents
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
104 places, 4,784 data points, 1978–2023
Last refreshed

Patent counts by technology (including total patents, estimated total patents for latest years): EPO, USPTO, PCT and Patent Families indicators are presented for selected technology domains such as ICT, Artificial Intelligence, nanotechnology, biotechnology as well as environment-related and health-related technologies.