World Intellectual Property Indicators by Country 2026
Patent Applications
0
200K
400K
600K
800K
1M
1.2M
1.4M
1.6M
1.8M
2M
Snapshot
-
China leads the world in patent applications, filing over 1.8 million in 2024—more than the rest of the top five countries combined.
-
The United States ranks second with just over 600,000 patent applications, followed by Japan (over 307,000) and South Korea (over 246,000), reflecting continued dominance by advanced economies.
-
Patent activity drops sharply outside the top tier, with most countries filing fewer than 10,000 applications annually, revealing large global innovation gaps.
World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) An annual report published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that tracks global trends in patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and other forms of intellectual property.
Patent Applications The number of patent filings submitted within a given year. Patent applications are commonly used as a proxy for innovation activity, though they do not measure patent quality or commercial success.
Innovation Output A broad measure of a country’s inventive activity, often assessed using indicators such as patent filings, research intensity, and the commercialization of new technologies.
Patent filings are widely used as a practical way to compare innovation activity across countries, but they are not the only measure of intellectual property. Trademarks, copyrights, utility models, and the commercialization of protected ideas also play important roles in a country’s innovation ecosystem.
Here is a look at the countries filing the most patent applications globally, based on the latest available data as of 2026, followed by key factors that help explain why innovation activity varies so widely by country.
World Countries with the Most Intellectual Property
According to data, the following are currently some of the most innovative countries in the world.
China
Using the number of patents filed per year as a guideline, as per the most recent data available in early 2026, China leads the pack in the realm of intellectual property. Its highly innovative people collectively filed over 1.8 million patents in 2024. The number of patents currently in force is estimated to exceed 5 million – the highest total worldwide.
United States
The United States is second to China in the innovation department with roughly 3.5 million patents currently in force. The number of new patents filed annually was 603,194 in 2024.
Japan
Well-known as a leading world innovator for many reasons, Japan comes in third with approximately 2.1 million patents currently in force. The total number of new patents filed annually in Japan in 2024 was 306,855.
Additional countries known worldwide as top-tier innovators and with many patents both in force and annually filed include South Korea (246,245), India (105,157), Germany (59,262), Canada (35,374), Australia (30,487), Russia (26,698), and Brazil (25,597).
Factors That Influence Innovation and Intellectual Property Abundance
Numerous factors come into play when it comes to matters like intellectual property and patents. Here are a few:
- Economic Climate: Generally speaking, richer nations with more robust economies demonstrate more patent activity and intellectual property, as they have more resources to invest in such things.
- Education: Countries with better educational systems or with better access to educational resources tend to be more innovative.
- Cultural Values: A country’s ingrained social and cultural values factor into the mix, as well. The more a country’s people value concepts like risk-taking or entrepreneurship, the more patents and brilliant IP ideas it’s likely to generate.
