Patent applications are a key indicator of a country’s innovative capacity. A high volume of filings indicates effective research and development (R&D) activity, economic competitiveness, and a forward-looking approach to growth and productivity.
A new study by the German Economic Institute (IW) sheds light on the changing landscape of innovation in Germany. Patent application filings don’t actually record nationality or immigration background. But using a unique methodology, which assigns inventors’ first names to one of 24 language areas, the IW patent database claims to be able to track "the region of origin" of inventors with a high degree of accuracy.
This approach allows for a detailed analysis of the contribution made by immigrants to patent activity in Germany, using data going back to 1994.
The results show that inventors with an immigration background are responsible for a rapidly growing proportion of patent applications in the country, particularly over the last two decades.
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What does the study reveal?
In 2000, just one in twenty inventions in Germany (4.9 percent) originated from immigrants, according to IW's analysis. By 2022, this figure had risen to one in seven (14 percent).
India stands out as a particularly dynamic country of origin. Patent applications from inventors of Indian origin have increased twelvefold since the turn of the millennium, rising from 40 in 2000 to 495 in 2022 (or from 0.1 percent to 1.2 percent of the total).
The study attributes this rise to several factors, but particularly Germany’s success in attracting skilled migrants through initiatives such as “Make it in Germany.” As a result, the number of Indian nationals working in technical and scientific professions in Germany has increased eightfold since 2012.
The rise in patent applications from people with roots in other parts of the world has been nearly as dramatic.
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For example, inventors based in Germany from Eastern and South-eastern Europe now account for just under three percent of all patent applications in the country, making them the largest overall contributors among immigrant groups.
The Arabic language area, including Turkey, has also seen its share of patent applications quadruple since 2000, rising to around two percent of the total.
The number of patent applications filed by people with roots in the Chinese language area has more than quadrupled over the same period.
The Southern Europe and Latin America language area also shows well above-average growth in their contribution to innovation.
Women inventors with an immigrant background
Another significant finding by the IW study relates to the relative numbers of male and female inventors.
On average, women accounted for 4.7 percent of all patent applications filed in Germany between 2000 and 2022. However, the proportion of female inventors is almost twice as high among those with foreign roots, at 8.5 percent, compared to their German counterparts.
This trend is particularly pronounced in certain language areas. For example, female inventors from Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic (13.6 percent), Poland (13.2 percent), and Romania (12.7 percent) are well represented.
Similarly, Korean and Spanish/Portuguese language areas each account for 11.1 percent female inventors.
Among Indian inventors, the proportion of women is also high, at 10.3 percent over the entire analysis period.
In the words of the report: “Skilled migration is making innovation in this country even more female.”
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The authors of the IW study offer an explanation for this phenomenon, referencing the “gender equality paradox.”
In countries with lower levels of prosperity or equality, women are more likely to pursue science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) degrees because they offer a surer route to well-paid jobs, independence, and economic security.
In contrast, women in countries with higher levels of prosperity and equality, such as Germany, tend to turn away from technical and scientific fields.
People with an academic background in STEM are far more likely to file patent applications.
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