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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 1,843 | 140 | 165 | 142 | 197 | 229 | 193 | 206 | 270 | 298 | 282 | 239 | 228 | 217 | 186 |
| Finland | 4,410 | 324 | 229 | 102 | 124 | 129 | 141 | 126 | 127 | 108 | 139 | 100 | 75 | 97 | 105 |
| Iceland | 113 | 825 | 545 | 19 | 21 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 2 |
| Norway | 4,745 | 5,389 | 4,843 | 696 | 654 | 555 | 648 | 457 | 652 | 833 | 908 | 592 | 582 | 564 | 634 |
| Sweden | 1,073 | 844 | 438 | 353 | 337 | 148 | 163 | 441 | 390 | 352 | 305 | 442 | 388 | 432 | 425 |