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  1. Science and spaceChina and United States

    China spends as much on research as the US, yet has half as many patents filed in the US, Europe and Japan at once

    Population414%Size of the economy126%Research spending101%Researchers173%Patent applications357%International applications140%Patents in US, EU and Japan51%China, with the US = 100%

    Spending: $859 billion against $848 billion in 2024. China has 1.7 times as many researchers, 3.6 times as many patent applications, and 4.1 times as many people.

    Source: OECD (Main Science and Technology Indicators); WIPO; UN; World BankOpen on the chart →
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    In research money, researchers and filings China has caught up with or passed the US. But it still has fewer inventions its owners think worth protecting in all three largest markets at once. Per person China still spends and files less: it has four times the people.

    Bars: China as a percentage of the US (US = 100%), each measure for the latest year both countries have: population 2023, economy 2023, spending 2024, researchers 2023, applications 2024, international applications 2025, patents in three offices 2023.

    Research spending (GERD): OECD, billion dollars at purchasing power parity in 2020 prices. Researchers: OECD, full-time equivalents. Patent applications: WIPO, by applicant's country in all the world's offices; international ones are PCT filings. Patents in three offices: OECD triadic families, filed at the European and Japanese offices and granted in the US. Economy: GDP per person at PPP (World Bank) × population (UN).

    An application is not a granted patent, and a count says nothing of value. China changed how it counts researchers in the late 2000s. The OECD estimates triadic families with a lag; the latest years are estimates.

    A question for this picture

    Per person, who files the most patent applications?

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