India vs South Africa: Patents - technology diffusion
Patents - technology diffusion over time
- India
- South Africa
How they compare
India currently reports 7,330 Patents against 4,592 Patents in South Africa, a difference of 2,738 Patents.
That makes India's figure about 1.6 times South Africa's.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 34 shared years of data; in 1990 it was South Africa ahead.
India ranks 10th and South Africa ranks 13th of 104 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, India averaged higher in 2 and South Africa in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | India | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1,723 Patents | 5,813 Patents | 4,090 Patents | South Africa |
| 2000s | 1,156 Patents | 6,337 Patents | 5,181 Patents | South Africa |
| 2010s | 6,278 Patents | 6,254 Patents | 24 Patents | India |
| 2020s | 6,019 Patents | 4,957 Patents | 1,062 Patents | India |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher patents - technology diffusion, India or South Africa?
- India, at 7,330 Patents against 4,592 Patents in South Africa as of 2023.
- What is the difference in patents - technology diffusion between India and South Africa?
- 2,738 Patents, with India ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for India and South Africa?
- 34 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2023.
- How do India and South Africa rank globally for patents - technology diffusion?
- India ranks 10th and South Africa ranks 13th of 104 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Patents - technology diffusion. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Patent statistics and indicators are suitable for tracking innovation in environment-related technologies. They allow the assessment of countries' innovation performance as well as the design of governments' environmental and innovation policies. This dataset presents data on patent applications by patent office. For more information on the methodology, click the link below on "Database documentation" Data source(s): OECD, STI Micro-data Lab: Intellectual Property Database, http://oe.cd/ipstats Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org Dataset release date: April 16, 2026 Database documentation