Overall spending on pharmaceutical drugs and medicine imports increased by an average 19.1% for all importer countries since 2019 when import purchases of drugs and medicines were valued at $418.1 billion.
Year over year, international purchases of exported drugs and medicines flatlined via a 0.2% compared to $497.1 billion in 2022.
The world’s 5 biggest importers of pharmaceutical medicines are the United States of America, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and mainland China. Collectively, that leading cohort of international buyers paid for 43.9% of globally imported drugs and medicines during 2023. That percentage indicates a relatively concentrated market of buyers worldwide.
From a continental perspective, European countries were responsible for over half (53.8%) of spending on drugs and medicines imported during 2023 with pharmaceutical purchases valued at $268 billion. In second place were North American importers at 20.7% while another 17.4% of imported pharmaceuticals was delivered to customers in Asia.
Smaller percentages were delivered to Latin America (3.9%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (2.7%), then Oceania (1.5%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
The metrics below combine subtotals for two 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefixes for drugs and medicine subcategories, specifically prefixes 3003 (consisting of 2 or more constituents mixed together) and 3004 (other).
Drugs and Medicines: Top 15 Importer Countries
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of drugs and medicines during 2023.
- United States: US$89.8 billion (18% of imported prescription drugs and medicines)
- Switzerland: $40.5 billion (8.1%)
- Germany: $32.5 billion (6.5%)
- Belgium: $31.3 billion (6.3%)
- mainland China: $24.5 billion (4.9%)
- Italy: $20.6 billion (4.1%)
- France: $18.4 billion (3.7%)
- United Kingdom: $16.8 billion (3.4%)
- Japan: $15.9 billion (3.2%)
- Netherlands: $15.8 billion (3.2%)
- Spain: $14.9 billion (3%)
- Canada: $11.5 billion (2.3%)
- Russia: $8.7 billion (1.7%)
- Slovenia: $7.5 billion (1.5%)
- Poland: $6.9 billion (1.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 71.4% of all prescription drugs and medicines imports in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for prescription drugs and medicines since 2019 were: Slovenia (up 92.6%), Switzerland (up 90.4%), Netherlands (up 55.9%) and Spain (up 38.5%).
Three major markets that posted declines in their imported prescription drugs and medicines purchases were: Russia (down -16.9% from 2022), United Kingdom (down -10.6%) and Japan (down -6.4%).
Drugs and Medicines: All Importer Countries in 2023
By value, the 100 key countries showcased in the following automated database bought 98.5% of imported pharmaceutical drugs and medicines purchased in 2023.
| Rank | Importer | Drugs & Medicines | %2019-23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | $89,784,868,000 | +13.3% |
| 2. | Switzerland | $40,508,742,000 | +90.4% |
| 3. | Germany | $32,470,160,000 | +4.7% |
| 4. | Belgium | $31,341,161,000 | +33% |
| 5. | mainland China | $24,543,916,000 | +14.1% |
| 6. | Italy | $20,578,736,000 | +20.4% |
| 7. | France | $18,352,469,000 | +15.5% |
| 8. | United Kingdom | $16,789,558,000 | -10.6% |
| 9. | Japan | $15,874,455,000 | -6.4% |
| 10. | Netherlands | $15,846,137,000 | +55.9% |
| 11. | Spain | $14,915,496,000 | +38.5% |
| 12. | Canada | $11,528,660,000 | +35.5% |
| 13. | Russia | $8,677,211,000 | -16.9% |
| 14. | Slovenia | $7,547,471,000 | +92.6% |
| 15. | Poland | $6,943,402,000 | +33.5% |
| 16. | Australia | $6,060,842,000 | +13.3% |
| 17. | Ireland | $5,971,430,000 | +39.2% |
| 18. | Czech Republic | $5,412,484,000 | +26.1% |
| 19. | South Korea | $5,334,372,000 | +30.1% |
| 20. | Brazil | $5,073,335,000 | +31.7% |
| 21. | Austria | $4,648,764,000 | +22.6% |
| 22. | Mexico | $4,533,840,000 | +60.3% |
| 23. | Romania | $4,300,172,000 | +40.3% |
| 24. | Taiwan | $4,166,141,000 | +35% |
| 25. | Denmark | $3,872,409,000 | +17.6% |
| 26. | Saudi Arabia | $3,666,414,000 | -11.9% |
| 27. | Sweden | $3,346,424,000 | +17.1% |
| 28. | Egypt | $3,275,554,000 | +51.4% |
| 29. | Hungary | $3,074,217,000 | +6.7% |
| 30. | Greece | $2,987,559,000 | +35.3% |
| 31. | Hong Kong | $2,983,988,000 | +34.1% |
| 32. | Portugal | $2,755,852,000 | +20.3% |
| 33. | United Arab Emirates | $2,429,182,000 | -25.6% |
| 34. | Türkiye | $2,344,378,000 | -13.2% |
| 35. | Colombia | $2,301,768,000 | +46.5% |
| 36. | Panama | $2,119,079,000 | +26% |
| 37. | Thailand | $2,088,829,000 | +20.6% |
| 38. | Slovakia | $2,068,323,000 | +29.7% |
| 39. | Singapore | $1,923,068,000 | +20% |
| 40. | Israel | $1,897,285,000 | +9.4% |
| 41. | Finland | $1,870,201,000 | +17.1% |
| 42. | Vietnam | $1,819,464,000 | -32.6% |
| 43. | Bulgaria | $1,763,585,000 | +37.7% |
| 44. | Ukraine | $1,733,174,000 | +1% |
| 45. | South Africa | $1,731,505,000 | -3% |
| 46. | Norway | $1,705,741,000 | +10.1% |
| 47. | Philippines | $1,705,359,000 | +23.8% |
| 48. | Kazakhstan | $1,447,313,000 | +63.6% |
| 49. | Chile | $1,444,123,000 | +33.2% |
| 50. | Lithuania | $1,375,341,000 | +32.5% |
| 51. | India | $1,360,321,000 | -0.6% |
| 52. | Argentina | $1,266,289,000 | +10.1% |
| 53. | Serbia | $1,258,935,000 | +56.6% |
| 54. | Malaysia | $1,236,736,000 | -10.2% |
| 55. | Croatia | $1,157,943,000 | +30.7% |
| 56. | New Zealand | $1,021,456,000 | +58.8% |
| 57. | Ecuador | $1,009,529,000 | +40.5% |
| 58. | Dominican Republic | $903,093,000 | +50.5% |
| 59. | Algeria | $890,666,000 | -26.8% |
| 60. | Indonesia | $824,449,000 | +32.5% |
| 61. | Guatemala | $823,646,000 | +50.9% |
| 62. | Latvia | $793,096,000 | +30% |
| 63. | Iraq | $781,840,000 | -22.3% |
| 64. | Uzbekistan | $725,626,000 | -12.1% |
| 65. | Costa Rica | $676,671,000 | +16% |
| 66. | Peru | $670,747,000 | +15.8% |
| 67. | Estonia | $653,465,000 | +34.8% |
| 68. | Luxembourg | $627,835,000 | +39.8% |
| 69. | Nigeria | $616,888,000 | -31% |
| 70. | Morocco | $590,242,000 | +28.4% |
| 71. | Jordan | $549,354,000 | +23.2% |
| 72. | Kuwait | $524,991,000 | -49.5% |
| 73. | Honduras | $524,968,000 | +20.4% |
| 74. | Sri Lanka | $518,445,000 | +32.9% |
| 75. | El Salvador | $503,492,000 | +28.6% |
| 76. | Tunisia | $480,237,000 | +9.7% |
| 77. | Iran | $472,615,000 | -46.3% |
| 78. | Azerbaijan | $461,973,000 | +76.6% |
| 79. | Ethiopia | $460,848,000 | -17.4% |
| 80. | Kenya | $452,729,000 | -4.2% |
| 81. | Belarus | $448,584,000 | -24.7% |
| 82. | Cyprus | $431,955,000 | +61% |
| 83. | Georgia | $427,490,000 | +32.2% |
| 84. | Nicaragua | $419,879,000 | +30% |
| 85. | Ivory Coast | $403,719,000 | +16.7% |
| 86. | Macao | $378,970,000 | +63.3% |
| 87. | Malta | $371,918,000 | +50.8% |
| 88. | Pakistan | $365,901,000 | -22.4% |
| 89. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $363,769,000 | +26.8% |
| 90. | Myanmar | $353,747,000 | -21.1% |
| 91. | Qatar | $352,935,000 | -23.8% |
| 92. | Tanzania | $328,493,000 | +31.2% |
| 93. | Cambodia | $268,915,000 | +39.6% |
| 94. | Democratic Rep. Congo | $268,081,000 | -38.7% |
| 95. | Moldova | $262,954,000 | +4.7% |
| 96. | Libya | $262,007,000 | -7.6% |
| 97. | Lebanon | $258,777,000 | -67.5% |
| 98. | Mozambique | $255,389,000 | +57.1% |
| 99. | Oman | $240,898,000 | -35.2% |
| 100. | Paraguay | $228,094,000 | +33.4% |
Widening the scope to focus on the top 100 major importers of drugs and medicines, the fastest-grower over the 5-year period starting in 2019 was Slovenia via a 92.6% increase in spending. In second place were importers in Switzerland (up 90.4%), Azerbaijan (up 76.6%), Kazakhstan (up 63.6%), Macao (up 63.3%) and Cyprus (up 61%).
You can change the above table’s presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the table’s columns.
Drugs and Medicines Companies
Below are conglomerates that are leading suppliers satisfying the global demand for pharmaceuticals. Shown within parenthesis is the country where the supplying business is headquartered.
- Abbott Laboratories (United States)
- AbbVie (United States)
- Actavis (Ireland)
- Allergan (United States)
- AmerisourceBergen (United States)
- Astellas Pharma (Japan)
- AstraZeneca (United Kingdom)
- Bristol-Myers Squibb (United States)
- Cardinal Health (United States)
- Daiichi Sankyo (Japan)
- Eli Lilly & Co (United States)
- GlaxoSmithKline (United Kingdom)
- McKesson (United States)
- Merck & Co (United States)
- Merck (Germany)
- Mylan (United States)
- Novartis (Switzerland)
- Novo Nordisk (Denmark)
- Otsuka Holding (Japan)
- Pfizer (United States)
- Roche Holding (Switzerland)
- Sanofi (France)
- Sinopharm Group (China)
- Takeda Pharmaceutical (Japan)
- Teva Pharmaceutical (Israel)
- Valeant Pharmaceuticals (Canada)
See also Drugs and Medicine Exports by Country, Top Vaccines Exports by Country, Fresh or Frozen Beef Imports by Country and Natural Honey Imports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on July 23, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 23, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 23, 2024
Wikipedia, Drug. Accessed on July 23, 2024