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 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burkina Faso | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Cabo Verde | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Cote d'Ivoire | 26 | ||||||||||||
| Ghana | 14 | 15 | 13 | 12 | |||||||||
| Nigeria | 12 | 64 | 42 | 50 | 85 | 100 | 382 | 439 | 410 |