Iran marks highest patent activity among OIC countries

TEHRAN, Dec. 30 (MNA) – International Organization of ISESCO announced that Islamic Republic of Iran has demonstrated the highest patent activity, ranking first among 57 Islamic countries. Based on a report titled ‘The Atlas of Islamic World Science and Innovation’ and on the order of Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Iran ranked first among 57 Islamic countries in the field of science and research. In the 7th Islamic Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, ISESCO announced that Tunisia, Malaysia, Turkey and Iran were the biggest spenders on R&D in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), while Tunisia, Jordan, Turkey and Iran have the highest number of researchers as a proportion of their populations. Turkey and Iran also publish nearly half of the OIC’s scientific papers, while Iran applies for, and is granted, the most patents. The OIC countries with the most researchers includeTurkey (124,796), Iran (107,810) and Egypt (89,270). Research and development expenditure of $6.4 billion makes Iran the OIC’s second largest R&D spender after Turkey. Turkey and Iran were the most prolific OIC countries in 2012 in terms of publication output, with 24,562 and 23,885 scientific articles respectively. Nearly half of the total OIC articles that year originated from these two countries which, along with Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan account for 77% of articles published by the OIC members. For the period 2000–2011, Iran demonstrated the highest patent activity in the OIC with 6,527 applications in 2006. Underlining its relatively strong business sector within the OIC, Malaysia followed Iran with 6,452 applications in 2011.