* indicates monthly or quarterly data series

Patent applications by residents, 2021:

The average for 2021 based on 11 countries was 24385 patent applications. The highest value was in the USA: 262244 patent applications and the lowest value was in El Salvador: 2 patent applications. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Measure: patent applications; Source: The World Intellectual Property Organization
Select indicator
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series


Countries Patent applications by residents, 2021 Global rank Available data
USA 262244 1 1980 - 2021
Canada 4710 2 1980 - 2021
Mexico 1117 3 1980 - 2021
Barbados 73 4 1984 - 2021
Panama 35 5 1980 - 2021
Jamaica 16 6 1983 - 2021
Costa Rica 15 7 1980 - 2021
Guatemala 9 8 1982 - 2021
Domin. Rep. 7 9 1983 - 2021
El Salvador 2 10 1980 - 2021
Tr.&Tobago 2 11 1980 - 2021



Definition: Patent applications are worldwide patent applications filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty procedure or with a national patent office for exclusive rights for an invention--a product or process that provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem. A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent for a limited period, generally 20 years.

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