The number of patents in Belgium increased remarkably between 2010 and 2017, allowing the country to climb from 17th to 15th place on the worldwide list. In 2010, Belgium granted an average of 345 patents per million inhabitants, which has steadily increased to 537 patents per million inhabitants in 2017.
“This focus on idea generation is good news for the global economy,” says Didier Delanoye, partner at PwC Belgium: “Life sciences are the driving force behind Belgium’s strong results, and the country’s solid R&D ecosystem and innovation support explain why the country is among the world’s leaders in idea generation. Furthermore, ideas lead to the creation of new businesses offering innovative products and services. They enhance our competitiveness, increase productivity and, ultimately, improve our living standards.”
These findings are based on PwC’s analysis of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) data on patents from 2017, with adjustments for population size.
With Dutch as its official language, Flanders (Dutch: Vlaanderen) is the autonomous northern region of Belgium. The capital of both Belgium and Flanders is Brussels.
