Patents - technology diffusion in Korea
Korea: Patents - technology diffusion was 209,296 Patents in 2023. ▲ Rising
Patents - technology diffusion in Korea, 1990–2023
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Patents.
Analysis
Korea recorded 209,296 Patents for patents - technology diffusion in 2023.
That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and up 10.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, patents - technology diffusion in Korea peaked at 221,378 Patents in 2021 and was at its lowest, 32,506 Patents, in 1990.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Patents - technology diffusion in Korea, year by year
| Year | Patents | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 32,506 Patents | — |
| 1991 | 32,960 Patents | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 33,597 Patents | +1.9% |
| 1993 | 38,895 Patents | +15.8% |
| 1994 | 47,663 Patents | +22.5% |
| 1995 | 83,004 Patents | +74.1% |
| 1996 | 94,276 Patents | +13.6% |
| 1997 | 97,705 Patents | +3.6% |
| 1998 | 81,388 Patents | -16.7% |
| 1999 | 85,874 Patents | +5.5% |
| 2000 | 109,346 Patents | +27.3% |
| 2001 | 115,726 Patents | +5.8% |
| 2002 | 122,769 Patents | +6.1% |
| 2003 | 141,275 Patents | +15.1% |
| 2004 | 131,954 Patents | -6.6% |
| 2005 | 164,334 Patents | +24.5% |
| 2006 | 172,457 Patents | +4.9% |
| 2007 | 177,247 Patents | +2.8% |
| 2008 | 183,414 Patents | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 167,164 Patents | -8.9% |
| 2010 | 169,638 Patents | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 176,440 Patents | +4.0% |
| 2012 | 183,185 Patents | +3.8% |
| 2013 | 189,198 Patents | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 191,833 Patents | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 191,613 Patents | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 187,173 Patents | -2.3% |
| 2017 | 184,889 Patents | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 191,798 Patents | +3.7% |
| 2019 | 201,053 Patents | +4.8% |
| 2020 | 214,970 Patents | +6.9% |
| 2021 | 221,378 Patents | +3.0% |
| 2022 | 213,674 Patents | -3.5% |
| 2023 | 209,296 Patents | -2.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Patents - technology diffusion in Korea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +74.1% | 47,663 Patents | 83,004 Patents |
| 2000 | +27.3% | 85,874 Patents | 109,346 Patents |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 62,787 Patents | 32,506 Patents | 97,705 Patents | 10 |
| 2000s | 148,569 Patents | 109,346 Patents | 183,414 Patents | 10 |
| 2010s | 186,682 Patents | 169,638 Patents | 201,053 Patents | 10 |
| 2020s | 214,830 Patents | 209,296 Patents | 221,378 Patents | 4 |
Countries ranked near Korea
- 1 Poland 3,864 Patents compare
- 1 China 1.77 million Patents compare
- 2 Netherlands 2,843 Patents compare
- 2 United States 370,325 Patents compare
- 3 Türkiye 1,760 Patents compare
- 3 Croatia 188 Patents compare
- 3 Japan 251,752 Patents compare
- 4 Moldova 96 Patents compare
- 4 Slovenia 162 Patents compare
- 4 Taiwan 55,572 Patents compare
More science & technology data for Korea
- Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent applications 10,699 Patents (2023)
- Domestic ownership of inventions made abroad — Patent applications 0 Patents (2023)
- Foreign ownership of domestic inventions — Patent applications 0 Patents (2023)
- Indicators of international co-operation — Patent applications 0 Patents (2023)
- Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent grants 1,263 Patents (2022)
- Patents by WIPO technology domains — Patent applications 10,699 Patents (2023)
- Patents with foreign co-inventors — Patent applications 0 Patents (2023)
- Patents by WIPO technology domains — Patent grants 1,263 Patents (2022)
- Composition of General Services Support Estimate — Agricultural 20.72 Percentage of general services support estimate (2024)
- Medical technology availability 46.67 Per 1 000 000 inhabitants (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is patents - technology diffusion in Korea?
- Patents - technology diffusion in Korea was 209,296 Patents in 2023, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest patents - technology diffusion recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 221,378 Patents in 2021.
- What is the lowest patents - technology diffusion recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 32,506 Patents in 1990.
- How does Korea rank for patents - technology diffusion?
- Korea ranks 1st out of 5 groups with data for 2023.
- Is patents - technology diffusion rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Patents - technology diffusion. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).
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