* indicates monthly or quarterly data series

Patent applications by residents, 2021:

The average for 2021 based on 10 countries was 205 patent applications. The highest value was in South Africa: 1804 patent applications and the lowest value was in Cape Verde: 1 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
South Africa 1804 1 1980 - 2021
Kenya 160 2 1988 - 2021
Mozambique 30 3 1999 - 2021
Rwanda 14 4 1988 - 2021
Uganda 14 5 2003 - 2021
Zambia 13 6 1980 - 2021
Madagascar 6 7 1994 - 2021
Mauritius 6 8 1981 - 2021
Botswana 3 9 2011 - 2021
Cape Verde 1 10 2016 - 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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