Korea, Rep.: Patent applications, residents

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Korea, Rep.'s patent applications, residents rose 2.4% on 2023 (from 191,142 to 195,786).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +9.1% and a typical year strayed about 21.3% 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 107.4% in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 24.9% in 1998. 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 3,963 a year. A straight line explains 85% 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 201,724 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 2,407, against 5,645 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, Korea, Rep. had the 4th 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 Korea, Rep. in the 2024 ranking

• China — 1st of 113: 1.67 million
• United States — 2nd of 113: 270,295
• Japan — 3rd of 113: 237,169
• India — 5th of 113: 63,217
• Germany — 6th of 113: 40,085
• Russian Federation — 7th of 113: 21,502

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 45 values

Patent applications, residents in nearby economies

• Australia — 2,542 (2024)
• Brunei Darussalam — 1 (2024)
• China — 1.67 million (2024)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 495 (2024)
• Indonesia — 1,931 (2024)
• Japan — 237,169 (2024)
• Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — 6,936 (2024)
• Lao PDR — 1 (2023)
• Macao SAR, China — 8 (2024)
• Malaysia — 841 (2024)
• Mongolia — 89 (2024)

More infrastructure data for Korea, Rep.

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 21.29 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 41.17 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 459,735 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 12,294 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 76.27 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 89.22 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 172.52 (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$18.72 billion (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 12.47% (2025)
• Patent applications, nonresidents

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, Rep.'s patent applications, residents?

195,786 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1980?

It is up 15,676% from 1,241 in 1980 (12.19% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 195,786 in 2024 and the lowest 1,241 in 1980.

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.