Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent applications by country
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.
Countries reporting
87
Highest
121,552 Patents
OECD
Lowest
0 Patents
Zimbabwe
Median
23.42 Patents
Years covered
46
1978–2023
Data points
4,784
What the numbers show
Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent applications is currently reported for 87 countries. The highest value is 121,552 Patents in OECD; the lowest is 0 Patents in Zimbabwe.
The median across all reporting countries is 23.42 Patents, and the mean is 2,386 Patents.
Over the past decade 29 countries rose and 46 fell. The largest increase was in Morocco (up 462.5%), and the largest decrease in Costa Rica (down 100.0%).
Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent applications: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OECD | 121,552 Patents | 2023 | down 11.6% | rising |
| 2 | Germany | 18,453 Patents | 2023 | down 17.7% | rising |
| 3 | Japan | 15,250 Patents | 2023 | down 30.1% | rising |
| 4 | China (People’s Republic of) | 13,210 Patents | 2023 | up 123.5% | volatile |
| 5 | France | 7,903 Patents | 2023 | down 16.0% | rising |
| 6 | Switzerland | 5,882 Patents | 2023 | up 5.0% | volatile |
| 7 | Italy | 3,954 Patents | 2023 | up 7.2% | rising |
| 8 | Sweden | 2,913 Patents | 2023 | down 24.9% | volatile |
| 9 | Austria | 1,745 Patents | 2023 | down 3.0% | volatile |
| 10 | Finland | 1,580 Patents | 2023 | down 15.3% | volatile |
| 11 | Denmark | 1,568 Patents | 2023 | up 5.5% | volatile |
| 12 | Belgium | 1,562 Patents | 2023 | up 2.6% | volatile |
| 13 | Chinese Taipei | 1,488 Patents | 2023 | up 13.8% | volatile |
| 14 | Canada | 1,478 Patents | 2023 | down 19.5% | volatile |
| 15 | Spain | 1,465 Patents | 2023 | up 8.9% | volatile |
| 16 | Israel | 1,203 Patents | 2023 | up 1.5% | volatile |
| 17 | Hong Kong (China) | 927 Patents | 2023 | up 256.4% | volatile |
| 18 | Singapore | 748.42 Patents | 2023 | up 41.5% | volatile |
| 19 | India | 745 Patents | 2023 | up 47.3% | volatile |
| 20 | Ireland | 648.82 Patents | 2023 | down 13.7% | volatile |
| 21 | Australia | 608.24 Patents | 2023 | down 20.6% | rising |
| 22 | Norway | 507.67 Patents | 2023 | down 2.9% | volatile |
| 23 | Liechtenstein | 329 Patents | 2023 | up 13.3% | volatile |
| 24 | Portugal | 240.6 Patents | 2023 | up 102.0% | volatile |
| 25 | Luxembourg | 213.33 Patents | 2023 | down 47.3% | volatile |
| 26 | Czechia | 170.58 Patents | 2023 | down 7.6% | volatile |
| 27 | Saudi Arabia | 134.16 Patents | 2023 | down 34.2% | volatile |
| 28 | Brazil | 124.76 Patents | 2023 | down 31.8% | volatile |
| 29 | Cayman Islands | 106.83 Patents | 2023 | down 28.7% | volatile |
| 29 | Greece | 106.83 Patents | 2023 | up 45.7% | volatile |
| 31 | New Zealand | 102.5 Patents | 2023 | down 52.7% | volatile |
| 32 | Hungary | 81.37 Patents | 2023 | down 32.2% | rising |
| 33 | South Africa | 60.67 Patents | 2023 | down 40.1% | rising |
| 34 | Thailand | 56.5 Patents | 2023 | up 55.1% | volatile |
| 35 | United Arab Emirates | 49 Patents | 2023 | up 58.9% | volatile |
| 36 | Cyprus | 44 Patents | 2023 | up 78.4% | volatile |
| 37 | Malta | 40 Patents | 2023 | down 39.4% | volatile |
| 38 | Russian Federation | 38.25 Patents | 2023 | down 81.3% | volatile |
| 39 | Romania | 37.25 Patents | 2023 | up 50.0% | volatile |
| 40 | Mexico | 35.33 Patents | 2023 | down 38.5% | volatile |
| 41 | Bulgaria | 33 Patents | 2023 | up 11.4% | volatile |
| 42 | Iceland | 30.5 Patents | 2023 | down 25.6% | volatile |
| 43 | Malaysia | 27 Patents | 2023 | down 54.9% | volatile |
| 44 | Indonesia | 23.42 Patents | 2023 | up 432.2% | volatile |
| 45 | Ukraine | 17 Patents | 2023 | up 33.9% | volatile |
| 46 | Chile | 15.25 Patents | 2023 | down 44.2% | volatile |
| 47 | Monaco | 14 Patents | 2023 | down 55.6% | rising |
| 48 | Uruguay | 12.17 Patents | 2023 | up 102.8% | volatile |
| 49 | Argentina | 11.55 Patents | 2023 | down 26.1% | volatile |
| 50 | Egypt | 8.5 Patents | 2023 | up 11.8% | volatile |
| 51 | Morocco | 7.5 Patents | 2023 | up 462.5% | volatile |
| 52 | Puerto Rico | 6 Patents | 2023 | down 94.1% | volatile |
| 53 | Colombia | 5.83 Patents | 2023 | down 61.9% | volatile |
| 54 | Bermuda | 5.67 Patents | 2023 | down 86.5% | volatile |
| 55 | Armenia | 5 Patents | 2023 | up 150.0% | volatile |
| 55 | Cuba | 5 Patents | 2023 | down 33.3% | volatile |
| 55 | Iran | 5 Patents | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 55 | Seychelles | 5 Patents | 2023 | up 66.7% | volatile |
| 59 | Andorra | 4.33 Patents | 2023 | up 73.3% | volatile |
| 60 | Tunisia | 3.08 Patents | 2023 | up 54.2% | volatile |
| 61 | Philippines | 3 Patents | 2023 | down 82.4% | volatile |
| 62 | Panama | 2.67 Patents | 2023 | down 51.5% | volatile |
| 63 | Algeria | 2 Patents | 2023 | down 40.0% | volatile |
| 63 | Georgia | 2 Patents | 2023 | up 100.0% | volatile |
| 63 | North Macedonia | 2 Patents | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 66 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 Patents | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 66 | Belarus | 1 Patents | 2023 | down 85.7% | volatile |
| 66 | Kazakhstan | 1 Patents | 2023 | down 80.0% | volatile |
| 66 | Sri Lanka | 1 Patents | 2023 | unchanged | volatile |
| 66 | Peru | 1 Patents | 2023 | down 33.3% | volatile |
| 71 | Lebanon | 0.5 Patents | 2023 | down 87.5% | volatile |
| 71 | Pakistan | 0.5 Patents | 2023 | down 66.7% | volatile |
| 73 | Costa Rica | 0 Patents | 2023 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Ecuador | 0 Patents | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 73 | Guatemala | 0 Patents | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 73 | Jamaica | 0 Patents | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 73 | Jordan | 0 Patents | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 73 | Kenya | 0 Patents | 2023 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Kuwait | 0 Patents | 2023 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Mongolia | 0 Patents | 2023 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Nigeria | 0 Patents | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 73 | Democratic People’s Republic of Korea | 0 Patents | 2023 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 73 | El Salvador | 0 Patents | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 73 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0 Patents | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 73 | Uzbekistan | 0 Patents | 2023 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 0 Patents | 2023 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Zimbabwe | 0 Patents | 2023 | — | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- United States 32,970 Patents
- Korea 10,699 Patents
- United Kingdom 4,653 Patents
- Netherlands 4,269 Patents
- Poland 508.37 Patents
- Türkiye 390 Patents
- Slovenia 118.7 Patents
- Lithuania 114.83 Patents
- Estonia 49 Patents
- Croatia 47.67 Patents
- Slovak Republic 40.5 Patents
- Latvia 19.5 Patents
About this data
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.