In June 2026, WIPO released the “2026 PCT Annual Statistical Review,” systematically presenting global PCT international patent application data for 2025.

1. Global Overall Scale: Slight Increase

in Total Number Data shows that by 2025, the global number of PCT international patent applications will reach 275,900, a slight year-on-year increase of 0.7%, indicating an overall slow, steady growth phase. From 2020 to 2025, the global PCT annual growth rate was only 0.1%. In recent years, global innovation has shifted from rapid expansion to high-quality iteration, and overall application growth has stabilized.

From the perspective of global acceptance structures, there is a significant gap in the scale of acceptance centers among countries. The China National Intellectual Property Administration firmly holds the largest position worldwide in PCT acceptance offices:

China National Intellectual Property Administration: 78,648 cases (first in the world).

United States Patent and Trademark Office: 49,032 cases

Japan Patent Office: 46,409 cases

European Patent Office: 39,332 cases

Korean Intellectual Property Office: 24,950 cases

2. Asia leads the world in PCT applications, China firmly holds first

place By 2025, PCT applications from Asian countries will account for 57%, a significant increase from 43.5% in 2015, with growth exceeding 13 percentage points over ten years.

The performance of PCT applications in major countries is as follows:
China: 73,718 applications for the year, up 5.3% year-on-year, consistently ranking first globally, with stable growth and strong resilience;
United States: 52,617 cases, down 3.0% year-on-year, marking a slight decline for several consecutive years;
Japan: 47,922 cases, down 1.0% year-on-year, maintaining a solid base;
South Korea: 25,016 cases, up 4.9% year-on-year, with hardware technology deployment accelerating;
Germany: 16,441 cases, slightly declining; European innovation overall tends to stabilize.
Comprehensive data shows: China is not only the world’s number one source country for PCT applications, but also the world’s largest PCT acceptance hub, with its core position in the international patent system continuously solidifying.

3. Proportion

of Applicants In
2025, WIPO will publish 265,200 PCT applications, with clear proportions of different entities
1. Enterprises: 89.6%
2. Universities: 5.3%
3. Individual inventors: 3.5%
4. Government and Public Research Institutions (PROs): 1.6%.
Overall, market-oriented enterprise R&D has dominated global patent output, with universities and research institutes continuing to undertake basic research and frontier technology innovation functions.

4. for Enterprises In 2025, Huawei topped the list for the ninth consecutive year with 7,523 applications, with East Asian companies dominating the list:

In addition, Chinese companies like Xiaomi and BOE continue to remain among the global leaders, deeply cultivating the communications and semiconductor sectors; Companies like LG Energy and Panasonic are experiencing impressive growth, and global competition for new energy patents is becoming increasingly fierce.
At the university level, the University of California ranks first globally in PCT applications, while Tsinghua University ranks second; In the list of public research institutions, the Shenzhen Advanced Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences ranks first globally, with the international export capacity of domestic scientific research innovation continuously strengthening.

5. Main Technical Fields

of PCT Applications By 2025, the number of PCT applications in the field of electrical engineering will account for 41.1% of the total published PCT applicationsNext are chemistry (22%), mechanical engineering (15.9%), and instrumentation (15.1%). Over the past decade, the electrical engineering sector has seen the largest share growth, rising from 35% in 2015 to 41.1% by 2025. By 2025, the top three technology fields will all belong to electrical engineering.
In 2025, PCT applications in the digital communications sector will account for 11.1% of total PCT applications, followed by computers (9.6%), electrical machinery (9%), medical technology (6.3%), and pharmaceuticals (4.3%). These five major areas together accounted for 40.3% of the total PCT applications.
In 2025, among the top 10 technology fields by PCT application volume, the fastest-growing sector is digital communications (+6.1%), followed by semiconductors (+6.1%) and electrical machinery (+4.6%), with measurement (–4.2%), biotechnology (–3.9%), and medical technology (–3%) seeing the largest declines.
Overall, electrical engineering and digital communications form the dual main pillars of global innovation, while the semiconductor sector’s impressive growth rate is becoming the next stage of competition.

6. The proportion of female inventors in PCT applications is steadily rising

and structural changes among innovation participants are also among the highlights of this report. In 2025, female inventors will account for 18.1% of PCT applicants, a slight increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to 2024. Over the past 15 years, the proportion of female inventors has steadily increased, with a cumulative increase of 6.7 percentage points.
In all countries and regions, the proportion of female inventors has increased over the past decade. By 2025, Latin America and the Caribbean will have the highest proportion of female inventors (24.5%), followed by Asia (18.8%), North America (18.2%), Africa (18.1%), Oceania (16.7%), and Europe (16.3%).

7. Conclusion

The 2025 global PCT data paints a clear picture: the focus of innovation continues to shift eastward, with Asia becoming the core engine of global patent applications, with China playing a key role in this process.
For tech innovation enterprises, intellectual property practitioners, and industry B&D personnel, the annual PCT data is not only a barometer of innovation trends but also an important decision-making basis for overseas patent layout, technology projects, and industrial cooperation. Against the backdrop of intensified global competition, focusing on high-value patents and precisely aligning with the sector’s cycle is the core path for enterprises to achieve long-term development.

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