Editing Economy of Saudi Arabia (section)

===Innovation===

Saudi has not been a hotbed of technological innovation. The number of Saudi patents registered in the United States between 1977 and 2010 came to 382—less than twelve per year—compared to 84,840 patents for South Korea or 20,620 for Israel during that period.<ref>{{cite book|author=House, Karen Elliott|title=On Saudi Arabia: Its People, past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future|publisher=Knopf|year=2012|pages=162–64}}</ref><ref>Source: USPTO website accessed 17 May 2011</ref> However, in 2017 Saudi Arabia was granted 664 patents by the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]], ranking 23rd among 92 countries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.arabianbusiness.com/politics-economics/394306-saudi-arabia-leads-arab-world-in-patents|title=Saudi Arabia leads Arab world in patents| last=Debusmann | first=Bernd Jr. |website=ArabianBusiness.com|date=17 April 2018 |language=en|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=19 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419205109/http://www.arabianbusiness.com/politics-economics/394306-saudi-arabia-leads-arab-world-in-patents|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/1286031/saudi-arabia|title=KSA ranks 23rd in number of patents granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office|date=17 April 2018|website=Arab News|language=en|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622083042/http://www.arabnews.com/node/1286031/saudi-arabia|url-status=live}}</ref> The number of granted patents was double that of all Arab countries combined during the same period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180416005914/en/Saudi-Arabia-Granted-664-Patents-2017-Double|title=Saudi Arabia Granted 664 Patents in 2017; Double of All Arab Countries Combined|date=16 April 2018|website=www.businesswire.com|language=en|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=20 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720091221/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180416005914/en/Saudi-Arabia-Granted-664-Patents-2017-Double|url-status=live}}</ref>