Patent Applications - Ranking 1997
In 1997, Japan (350,807), United States (119,214), and Korea (67,359) ranked highest in patent applications among all countries. Malawi ranked lowest at 2.
Data & analysis
- China — 1,426,644.00
- United States — 262,244.00
- Japan — 222,452.00
- Korea — 186,245.00
- Germany — 39,822.00
The 2021 ranking of patent applications by residents, sourced from the World Bank, reveals a stark concentration of innovation capacity. China dominates with 1,426,644 filings, a figure over five times that of the second-ranked United States (262,244) and more than six times that of Japan (222,452). These top-tier economies share deep investments in research infrastructure, large domestic markets, and state-backed intellectual property incentives. At the opposite extreme, nations like Samoa, Cyprus, and Cabo Verde each recorded a single application, reflecting structural barriers such as small populations, limited industrial bases, and weak R&D funding networks. The vast gap between the top and bottom underscores how patent activity correlates with economic scale and technological specialization. As emerging economies like India or Brazil expand their manufacturing and digital sectors, their patent volumes may rise, potentially challenging the current hierarchy.
| Rank | Country | Value | YoY % |
|---|---|---|---|