Patent applications are worldwide patent applications filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty procedure or with a national patent office.
| 1990 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 2,389 | 3,179 | 4,054 | 4,228 | 4,695 | 4,798 | 4,959 | 4,659 | 4,641 | 5,200 | 5,480 | 4,980 | 5,464 | 5,280 | 4,666 |
| India | 1,147 | 2,206 | 4,721 | 8,853 | 8,841 | 9,553 | 10,669 | 12,040 | 12,579 | 13,199 | 14,961 | 16,289 | 19,454 | 23,141 | 26,267 |
| South Africa | 1,093 | 895 | 1,003 | 821 | 656 | 608 | 638 | 802 | 889 | 704 | 728 | 657 | 567 | 542 | 1,804 |
| China | 5,832 | 25,346 | 93,485 | 293,066 | 415,829 | 535,313 | 704,936 | 801,135 | 968,252 | 1,204,981 | 1,245,709 | 1,393,815 | 1,243,568 | 1,344,817 | 1,426,644 |
| Russian Federation | 23,377 | 23,644 | 28,722 | 26,495 | 28,701 | 28,765 | 24,072 | 29,269 | 26,795 | 22,777 | 24,926 | 23,337 | 23,759 | 19,569 |