Saudi Arabia: Patent applications, nonresidents

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Saudi Arabia's patent applications, nonresidents rose 15.4% on 2023 (from 4,265 to 4,921).

Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2023), the average change was +66.2% and a typical year strayed about 242.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 1,152.6% in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 69.3% in 2014. 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 296.3 a year. A straight line explains 77% 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 5,351 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 793, against 1,558 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, Saudi Arabia had the 22nd highest value of the 118 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 Saudi Arabia in the 2024 ranking

• Malaysia — 19th of 118: 6,356
• New Zealand — 20th of 118: 5,684
• Russian Federation — 21st of 118: 5,196
• Luxembourg — 23rd of 118: 3,714
• Philippines — 24th of 118: 3,698
• United Arab Emirates — 25th of 118: 3,320

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 33 values

Patent applications, nonresidents in nearby economies

• Algeria — 329 (2024)
• Bahrain — 387 (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 1,272 (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 343 (2024)
• Iraq — 82 (2024)
• Israel — 6,814 (2024)
• Jordan — 268 (2024)
• Malta — 13 (2024)
• Morocco — 2,556 (2024)
• Oman — 757 (2024)
• Pakistan — 499 (2024)

More infrastructure data for Saudi Arabia

• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 302,451 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 1,037 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 47.98 million (2023)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 6.71 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 19.75 (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 54.18 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 159.54 (2024)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 35.4% (2024)
• Patent applications, residents — 3,108 (2024)

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 Saudi Arabia's patent applications, nonresidents?

4,921 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1989?

It is up 8,384% from 58 in 1989 (13.53% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 4,921 in 2024 and the lowest 58 in 1989.

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.

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