Korea, Dem. People's Rep.: Patent applications, nonresidents

Key figures

Since 1986 it is down 25% from 8 in 1986 (0.84% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 17 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2020, Korea, Dem. People's Rep.'s patent applications, nonresidents fell 14.3% on 2019 (from 7 to 6).

Across the 13 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2019), the average change was +46.3% and a typical year strayed about 129.8% 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 1987 and the biggest yearly fall was 78.9% in 1991. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

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

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Korea, Dem. People's Rep. in the 2020 ranking

• Nigeria — 1st of 3: 598
• Sudan — 2nd of 3: 7

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 18 values

Patent applications, nonresidents in nearby economies

• Australia — 27,945 (2024)
• Brunei Darussalam — 137 (2024)
• Cambodia — 150 (2024)
• China — 156,053 (2024)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 15,445 (2024)
• Indonesia — 8,971 (2024)
• Japan — 69,686 (2024)
• Korea, Rep. — 50,459 (2024)
• Lao PDR — 48 (2024)
• Macao SAR, China — 49 (2024)
• Malaysia

More infrastructure data for Korea, Dem. People's Rep.

• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 6.35 million (2022)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 24.13 (2022)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 74 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 3,690 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 0.0075 (2023)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 1.18 million (2022)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 4.48 (2022)
• Scientific and technical journal articles — 269.28 (2023)
• Patent applications, residents

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 Korea, Dem. People's Rep.'s patent applications, nonresidents?

6 in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1986?

It is down 25% from 8 in 1986 (0.84% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 76 in 2007 and the lowest 2 in 2017.

Is the latest change in patent applications, nonresidents unusual for Korea, Dem. People's Rep.?

In 2020, Korea, Dem. People's Rep.'s patent applications, nonresidents fell 14.3% on 2019 (from 7 to 6). Across the 13 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2019), the average change was +46.3% and a typical year strayed about 129.8% 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.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IP.PAT.NRES, 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.