Annual patent applications in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Annual patent applications was 15 in 2021. ▼ Falling
Annual patent applications in Costa Rica, 1980–2021
Source: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 15 for annual patent applications in 2021.
The figure is up 25.0% on the previous year and up 15.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual patent applications in Costa Rica peaked at 63 in 1991 and was at its lowest, 8, in 2010.
That places Costa Rica 99th out of 135 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 42 years of available data.
Annual patent applications in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 30 | — |
| 1981 | 41 | +36.7% |
| 1982 | 39 | -4.9% |
| 1983 | 16 | -59.0% |
| 1984 | 24 | +50.0% |
| 1985 | 16 | -33.3% |
| 1986 | 11 | -31.2% |
| 1987 | 10 | -9.1% |
| 1988 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 13 | +30.0% |
| 1990 | 15 | +15.4% |
| 1991 | 63 | +320.0% |
| 1992 | 18 | -71.4% |
| 1993 | 27 | +50.0% |
| 1994 | 32 | +18.5% |
| 1995 | 25 | -21.9% |
| 1996 | 23 | -8.0% |
| 1997 | 25 | +8.7% |
| 1998 | 22 | -12.0% |
| 1999 | 31 | +40.9% |
| 2000 | 28 | -9.7% |
| 2001 | 21 | -25.0% |
| 2002 | 23 | +9.5% |
| 2003 | 33 | +43.5% |
| 2004 | 26 | -21.2% |
| 2005 | 17 | -34.6% |
| 2006 | 22 | +29.4% |
| 2007 | 20 | -9.1% |
| 2008 | 24 | +20.0% |
| 2009 | 16 | -33.3% |
| 2010 | 8 | -50.0% |
| 2011 | 13 | +62.5% |
| 2012 | 9 | -30.8% |
| 2013 | 18 | +100.0% |
| 2014 | 15 | -16.7% |
| 2015 | 17 | +13.3% |
| 2016 | 9 | -47.1% |
| 2017 | 19 | +111.1% |
| 2018 | 8 | -57.9% |
| 2019 | 16 | +100.0% |
| 2020 | 12 | -25.0% |
| 2021 | 15 | +25.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 15 is below the median for high income countries, which is 397.5, 4% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 15 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 21, 71% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Annual patent applications in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +320.0% | 15 | 63 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 21 | 10 | 41 | 10 |
| 1990s | 28.1 | 15 | 63 | 10 |
| 2000s | 23 | 16 | 33 | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.2 | 8 | 19 | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.5 | 12 | 15 | 2 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More science & technology data for Costa Rica
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 136.03 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.36 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 6.98 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 133.51 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 1.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 2.36 % change on previous year (2024)
- Patent applications, nonresidents, gaps filled 438 (2024)
- Patent applications, nonresidents 438 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual patent applications in Costa Rica?
- Annual patent applications in Costa Rica was 15 in 2021, according to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual patent applications recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 63 in 1991.
- What is the lowest annual patent applications recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 8 in 2010.
- How does Costa Rica rank for annual patent applications?
- Costa Rica ranks 99th out of 135 countries with data for 2021.
- Is annual patent applications rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual patent applications. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).