Countries by Foreign Patents
Complete ranking of 135 countries • applications • Data refreshed May 5, 2026
Leader
United States
Field size
135 countries
Lowest rank
Estonia
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About Patent Applications (Non Residents) Rankings
United States leads all 135 countries in Patent Applications (Non Residents) with a value of 329.2K applications, while Estonia ranks last at 1.00 applications. This represents a 329,229-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.
What Patent Applications (Non Residents) Measures
Patent Applications (Non Residents) from World Bank Open Data, using the latest available country values in TerraBrawl.
Why This Ranking Matters
Examining Patent Applications (Non Residents) across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.
Global Range
Values range from 1.00 applications (Estonia) to 329.2K applications (United States) — a 329.2K-fold difference across 135 countries.
Regional Patterns
Asian countries dominate this ranking, holding 11 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.
The distribution is highly right-skewed — a few countries have exceptionally high values that pull the average well above the median. The median (137 applications) is far more representative than the mean (6.7K applications).
Notable Outliers
United States stands far above the rest, with a value 107% higher than second-place China. This extraordinary lead suggests unique national circumstances — geographic scale, resource endowment, or policy choices — that set it apart from even its closest competitors.
Continental Leaders
Highest Patent Applications (Non Residents)
The 5 strongest Patent Applications (Non Residents) reads.
Lowest Patent Applications (Non Residents)
The 5 lowest Patent Applications (Non Residents) reads.
Data Note
Rankings are based on the latest available data from World Bank Open Data, covering 135 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.
