Overall spending on pharmaceutical drugs and medicine imports increased 22.2% for all importer countries since 2017 when import purchases of drugs and medicines were valued at $374.4 billion.
From 2020 to 2021, international purchases of drugs and medicines increased by 3.1%.
The world’s 5 biggest importers of pharmaceutical medicines are the United States of America, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and mainland China. Collectively, that cohort of international buyers paid for 42.8% of globally imported drugs and medicines during 2021. That percentage indicates a relatively concentrated market of buyers.
From a continental perspective, European countries were responsible for over half (51.6%) of worldwide drugs and medicines imported during 2021 with pharmaceutical purchases valued at $236.3 billion. In second place were North American importers at 21.5% while 18.7% of imported pharmaceuticals was delivered to customers in Asia.
Smaller percentages were delivered to Latin America (3.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (3.2%) 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 2021.
- United States: US$85.3 billion (18.6% of total prescription drugs/medicines imports)
- Germany: $33.7 billion (7.4%)
- Switzerland: $27.3 billion (6%)
- Belgium: $25.4 billion (5.6%)
- China: $23.9 billion (5.2%)
- Japan: $18.5 billion (4%)
- France: $18 billion (3.9%)
- Italy: $17.3 billion (3.8%)
- United Kingdom: $15.6 billion (3.4%)
- Netherlands: $13.8 billion (3%)
- Spain: $12.3 billion (2.7%)
- Russia: $9.6 billion (2.1%)
- Canada: $9.5 billion (2.1%)
- Poland: $5.8 billion (1.3%)
- Australia: $5.6 billion (1.2%)
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for prescription drugs and medicines since 2017 were: Netherlands (up 54.4%), Switzerland (up 40.1%), mainland China (up 37.2%) and Canada (up 32.9%).
The United Kingdom was the lone top importers to post a decline in its imports of prescription drugs and medicines via a -28.3% reduction.
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 70.3% of all prescription drugs and medicines imports in 2021.
Drugs and Medicines: All Importer Countries in 2021
By value, the 100 key countries showcased in the following automated database bought 98% of imported pharmaceutical drugs and medicines purchased in 2021.
| Rank | Importer | Drugs & Medicines | %2017-21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | $85,302,563,000 | +29.2% |
| 2. | Germany | $33,739,304,000 | +28.9% |
| 3. | Switzerland | $27,341,481,000 | +40.1% |
| 4. | Belgium | $25,413,851,000 | +28.5% |
| 5. | China | $23,900,448,000 | +37.2% |
| 6. | Japan | $18,516,554,000 | +21.9% |
| 7. | France | $17,979,819,000 | +22% |
| 8. | Italy | $17,327,141,000 | +14.2% |
| 9. | United Kingdom | $15,614,108,000 | -28.3% |
| 10. | Netherlands | $13,787,742,000 | +54.4% |
| 11. | Spain | $12,349,338,000 | +22.6% |
| 12. | Russia | $9,575,475,000 | +11.6% |
| 13. | Canada | $9,528,472,000 | +32.9% |
| 14. | Poland | $5,829,063,000 | +26.5% |
| 15. | Australia | $5,646,576,000 | +3.6% |
| 16. | Slovenia | $5,637,428,000 | +419.9% |
| 17. | Ireland | $5,245,851,000 | +13.5% |
| 18. | Czech Republic | $4,889,518,000 | +33.1% |
| 19. | South Korea | $4,837,644,000 | +38.9% |
| 20. | Denmark | $4,668,932,000 | +47.4% |
| 21. | Saudi Arabia | $4,438,327,000 | +5.1% |
| 22. | Austria | $4,243,920,000 | +29.4% |
| 23. | Brazil | $3,884,957,000 | +16.2% |
| 24. | Romania | $3,486,844,000 | +26.7% |
| 25. | Taiwan | $3,404,742,000 | +34.2% |
| 26. | Mexico | $3,290,700,000 | +23.2% |
| 27. | Sweden | $3,255,814,000 | +21% |
| 28. | Hungary | $2,983,670,000 | +6.1% |
| 29. | Egypt | $2,766,950,000 | +39.1% |
| 30. | Greece | $2,676,070,000 | +3.5% |
| 31. | Turkey | $2,629,227,000 | -7.3% |
| 32. | Portugal | $2,461,431,000 | +15.9% |
| 33. | Hong Kong | $2,389,861,000 | +5.6% |
| 34. | United Arab Emirates | $2,149,831,000 | -34.4% |
| 35. | Ukraine | $2,142,686,000 | +48.9% |
| 36. | South Africa | $2,022,052,000 | +16.7% |
| 37. | Colombia | $1,904,317,000 | +41.5% |
| 38. | Thailand | $1,888,682,000 | +17.4% |
| 39. | Israel | $1,880,226,000 | +38% |
| 40. | Slovakia | $1,866,540,000 | +24.8% |
| 41. | India | $1,844,352,000 | +70.8% |
| 42. | Finland | $1,756,638,000 | +10.4% |
| 43. | Norway | $1,755,469,000 | +9.1% |
| 44. | Panama | $1,750,540,000 | +17.5% |
| 45. | Singapore | $1,678,550,000 | +8.5% |
| 46. | Vietnam | $1,640,923,000 | -38.1% |
| 47. | Bulgaria | $1,604,542,000 | +36.1% |
| 48. | Malaysia | $1,437,113,000 | +31.7% |
| 49. | Philippines | $1,421,273,000 | +10.8% |
| 50. | Chile | $1,339,450,000 | +49.2% |
| 51. | Uzbekistan | $1,207,124,000 | +64.1% |
| 52. | Argentina | $1,203,367,000 | -10.5% |
| 53. | Lithuania | $1,185,623,000 | +25.9% |
| 54. | Nigeria | $1,132,375,000 | +257.1% |
| 55. | Kazakhstan | $1,125,449,000 | 0% |
| 56. | Serbia | $1,077,929,000 | +66.8% |
| 57. | Croatia | $1,070,926,000 | +51.5% |
| 58. | Iraq | $903,039,000 | +6.6% |
| 59. | Algeria | $884,552,000 | -34.1% |
| 60. | Indonesia | $875,256,000 | +42.7% |
| 61. | Ecuador | $854,424,000 | +15.3% |
| 62. | Iran | $814,694,000 | -29.2% |
| 63. | New Zealand | $767,558,000 | +18.2% |
| 64. | Latvia | $709,202,000 | +25.9% |
| 65. | Peru | $697,130,000 | +42.4% |
| 66. | Dominican Republic | $680,672,000 | +34.1% |
| 67. | Guatemala | $671,748,000 | +31.5% |
| 68. | Estonia | $639,128,000 | +94.5% |
| 69. | Costa Rica | $632,178,000 | +5% |
| 70. | Kenya | $617,375,000 | +38.6% |
| 71. | Belarus | $584,518,000 | 0% |
| 72. | Honduras | $554,577,000 | +50.6% |
| 73. | Luxembourg | $535,845,000 | +38% |
| 74. | Jordan | $515,002,000 | +11.4% |
| 75. | Morocco | $510,792,000 | +28.8% |
| 76. | Lebanon | $508,646,000 | -51.8% |
| 77. | Ethiopia | $505,700,000 | +10.2% |
| 78. | Pakistan | $499,452,000 | +2.4% |
| 79. | Kuwait | $489,473,000 | -54% |
| 80. | Myanmar | $452,609,000 | +6.1% |
| 81. | Sri Lanka | $428,083,000 | +8.9% |
| 82. | Tunisia | $420,309,000 | +0.9% |
| 83. | El Salvador | $417,986,000 | +35% |
| 84. | Azerbaijan | $408,633,000 | +93.2% |
| 85. | Nicaragua | $392,404,000 | -7% |
| 86. | Qatar | $372,063,000 | -15.8% |
| 87. | Tanzania | $358,801,000 | +9.4% |
| 88. | Cyprus | $346,935,000 | +59.4% |
| 89. | Malta | $345,887,000 | +77.1% |
| 90. | Georgia | $344,396,000 | -76.3% |
| 91. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $329,235,000 | +26.9% |
| 92. | Senegal | $295,932,000 | +46.4% |
| 93. | Libya | $284,447,000 | +31% |
| 94. | Moldova | $279,829,000 | +37.2% |
| 95. | Oman | $278,368,000 | -24% |
| 96. | Nepal | $275,783,000 | +27.7% |
| 97. | Ghana | $272,849,000 | +32.4% |
| 98. | Democr. Rep. Congo | $253,375,000 | +46% |
| 99. | Cameroon | $249,593,000 | +28.3% |
| 100. | Uganda | $248,532,000 | +11.6% |
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 2017 was Slovenia via a 419.9% increase in spending. In second place were importers in Nigeria (up 257.1%), Estonia (up 94.5%), Azerbaijan (up 93.2%), Malta (up 77.1%) and India (up 70.8%).
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 21, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 21, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 21, 2022
Wikipedia, Drug. Accessed on July 21, 2022
