Hong Kong SAR, China: Patent applications, residents

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Hong Kong SAR, China's patent applications, residents rose 6.5% on 2023 (from 465 to 495).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +26.7% and a typical year strayed about 77.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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 392.3% in 1998 and the biggest yearly fall was 67.2% in 1999. 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 28.95 a year. A straight line explains 94% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 574.95 for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 9.29, against 61 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, Hong Kong SAR, China had the 44th 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 Hong Kong SAR, China in the 2024 ranking

• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 41st of 113: 563
• Iraq — 42nd of 113: 556
• Uzbekistan — 43rd of 113: 507
• Hungary — 45th of 113: 480
• Pakistan — 46th of 113: 480
• Czechia — 47th of 113: 463

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 42 values

Patent applications, residents in nearby economies

• Australia — 2,542 (2024)
• Brunei Darussalam — 1 (2024)
• China — 1.67 million (2024)
• Indonesia — 1,931 (2024)
• Japan — 237,169 (2024)
• Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — 6,936 (2024)
• Korea, Rep. — 195,786 (2024)
• Lao PDR — 1 (2023)
• Macao SAR, China — 8 (2024)
• Malaysia — 841 (2024)
• Mongolia — 89 (2024)

More infrastructure data for Hong Kong SAR, China

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 3.31 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 44.57 (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 27.05 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 364.85 (2024)
• Patent applications, nonresidents — 15,445 (2024)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 95.76% (2024)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 38.75% (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 143,874 (2023)
• Industrial design applications, nonresident, by count

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 Hong Kong SAR, China's patent applications, residents?

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

How has it changed since 1983?

It is up 2,257% from 21 in 1983 (8.01% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 495 in 2024 and the lowest 9 in 1993.

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.

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