El Salvador: Patent applications, residents

Key figures

Over five years it is up 500% from 1 in 2019 (43.1% a year on average, compounded). Since 1980 it is down 50% from 12 in 1980 (1.56% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 23 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2024, El Salvador's patent applications, residents fell 33.3% on 2023 (from 9 to 6).

Across the 17 yearly changes before that (1983 to 2023), the average change was +13.7% and a typical year strayed about 92.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 300% in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 70% in 1995. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 4% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, El Salvador had the 105th highest value of the 113 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to El Salvador in the 2024 ranking

• Rwanda — 103rd of 113: 8
• Mauritius — 104th of 113: 7
• Bahrain — 105th of 113: 6
• Cyprus — 107th of 113: 3
• Jamaica — 108th of 113: 3
• Madagascar — 109th of 113: 3

What this measures

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.

Limitations: Data are based on information supplied to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) by IP offices in annual surveys, supplemented by data in national IP office reports. Data may be missing for some offices or periods.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 22 values

Patent applications, residents in nearby economies

• Argentina — 445 (2024)
• Bahamas, The — 4 (2017)
• Bolivia — 10 (2022)
• Brazil — 5,752 (2024)
• Chile — 390 (2024)
• Colombia — 270 (2024)
• Costa Rica — 15 (2024)
• Cuba — 12 (2024)
• Dominican Republic — 11 (2024)
• Ecuador — 53 (2024)
• Guatemala — 8 (2024)
• Honduras

More infrastructure data for El Salvador

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 885,101 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 13.96 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 25,109 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 3.26 million (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 27.8 (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 11.19 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 176.52 (2024)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 17.88% (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$455.27 million (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is El Salvador's patent applications, residents?

6 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1980?

It is down 50% from 12 in 1980 (1.56% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 39 in 1983 and the lowest 1 in 2019.

How does El Salvador rank?

105th highest of 113 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in patent applications, residents unusual for El Salvador?

In 2024, El Salvador's patent applications, residents fell 33.3% on 2023 (from 9 to 6). Across the 17 yearly changes before that (1983 to 2023), the average change was +13.7% and a typical year strayed about 92.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IP.PAT.RESD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: WIPO Patent Report: Statistics on Worldwide Patent Activity, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), note: The International Bureau of WIPO assumes no responsibility with respect to the transformation of these data. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.