China leads global innovation ranking by number of patents
Based on the 2025 IFI Global 250 ranking, China has solidified its position as a leader in global innovation, with seven of its companies placing in the top ten. The study, which evaluates companies based on the number of active patent families, shows that the State Grid Corporation of China topped the list. It was followed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and South Korea's Samsung.
Overall, 250 companies were included in the ranking, with the following country breakdown:
• Japan had the most companies on the list with 75, accounting for 30% of the total.
• China was second with 72 companies, but led in the total number of inventions held by a single country.
• The United States came in third with 45 companies, including notable firms such as IBM (20th), Microsoft (32nd), and Qualcomm (34th).
According to Lily Yakurchi, IFI's Head of Marketing, an analysis of patent activity provides investors with a more accurate understanding of a company's technological status and "intangible assets" than traditional financial reporting. The Global 250 ranking is based on data from 106 patent offices worldwide and includes only active patents, organizing them into "patent families"—a single invention protected across multiple jurisdictions.
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