The report shows that, after a 3% decline in 2019 due to the impact of COVID-19, the number of global patent applications has increased steadily over the past five years. The growth momentum in 2024 is mainly driven by countries with strong innovation capabilities such as China, India, South Korea, and Japan, with China adding at least 153,072 applications in just one year.
In total, the world recorded a record 3.7 million applications in 2024, including 2.7 million applications from residents, accounting for 72.6%—also the highest proportion in nearly a decade. Applications from residents increased by 6.8%, while applications from non-residents remained almost unchanged.
Between 2014 and 2024, the number of applications from residents increased from 1.8 to 2.7 million, reflecting a strong shift towards registering intellectual property in the inventor's country of origin.
In 2024, the world had 19.7 million active patents, a 6% increase from the previous year. China continued to lead with 5.7 million active patents, followed by the US (3.5 million), Japan (2.1 million), and South Korea (1.3 million).
Notably, many countries recorded double-digit growth in 2024, such as Luxembourg, Sweden, and India, all demonstrating the increasing importance of intellectual property protection in economic , scientific, and technological development.
In 2024, intellectual property offices in Asia accounted for 71.1% of all patents granted, an increase of 16.8 percentage points compared to 2014. China alone granted 49.5% of the total global patents. North America accounted for 16.4%, Europe 9.5%, and the remainder was distributed among Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania.
According to WIPO, the time required to examine patent applications is resource-intensive and requires significant expertise, leading to an increasing number of pending applications in many countries. In 2024, the total number of pending applications globally was 4.7 million, an increase of 3.6%.
Of these, Vietnam had the fastest growth rate, reaching +75.4%, surpassing the major economies in the top 20. The Philippines (+15.4%) and Mexico (+11.1%) followed. Conversely, Russia, Thailand, and the UK recorded declines of over 10%.
This impressive growth reflects: rapidly increasing demand for patent registrations, coupled with a strong domestic innovation movement; Vietnam's growing attractiveness to foreign businesses and investors in the technology and engineering sector; and efforts to improve the legal environment and raise business awareness of intellectual property protection.
This result also highlights the need to further strengthen examination capacity, modernize the intellectual property system, promote digitalization, and shorten application processing times—in order to meet the expected surge in patent registration activity in the future.
Source: https://mst.gov.vn/viet-nam-co-toc-do-tang-truong-nhanh-nhat-ve-so-luong-don-xin-cap-bang-sang-che-197251210195728029.htm
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