Pharmaceutical consumption by country
Total pharmaceutical consumption according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification/Defined Daily Dose (DDD) system, created by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology. The unit of measurement is Defined Daily Dose (DDD), defined as the assumed average maintenance dose per...
What the numbers show
Pharmaceutical consumption is currently reported for 21 countries. The highest value is 640.1 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day in Luxembourg; the lowest is 148.5 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day in Australia.
The median across all reporting countries is 311 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day, and the mean is 310.43 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 4.
Over the past decade 18 countries rose and 3 fell. The largest increase was in Canada (up 249.8%), and the largest decrease in Austria (down 8.0%).
Pharmaceutical consumption: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luxembourg | 640.1 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 39.0% | rising |
| 2 | Hungary | 442.3 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 72.8% | rising |
| 3 | Canada | 417.3 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 249.8% | rising |
| 4 | Czechia | 371.6 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2024 | up 43.0% | rising |
| 5 | Finland | 361.1 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 18.0% | flat |
| 6 | Greece | 352.1 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 88.6% | rising |
| 7 | New Zealand | 351.1 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | down 0.9% | flat |
| 8 | Norway | 342.2 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 26.4% | rising |
| 9 | Spain | 320.8 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 36.4% | rising |
| 10 | Sweden | 315.3 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 21.5% | rising |
| 11 | Portugal | 311 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 47.1% | rising |
| 12 | United Kingdom | 308.8 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2024 | up 36.3% | rising |
| 13 | Italy | 297.3 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 11.2% | rising |
| 14 | Germany | 252.5 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2024 | up 11.2% | rising |
| 15 | Chile | 250.2 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 50.3% | rising |
| 16 | Denmark | 247.1 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2024 | up 46.1% | rising |
| 17 | Iceland | 236.8 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 51.5% | rising |
| 18 | Belgium | 213 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2024 | up 22.1% | rising |
| 19 | Israel | 178.6 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2025 | up 12.4% | rising |
| 20 | Austria | 161.3 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2024 | down 8.0% | flat |
| 21 | Australia | 148.5 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day | 2022 | down 3.3% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Korea 379.9 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day
- Croatia 321.3 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day
- Slovenia 312.7 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day
- Slovak Republic 284.4 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day
- Netherlands 247.2 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day
- Lithuania 229 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day
- Poland 175.6 Defined daily dose per 1 000 inhabitants per day
About this data
Total pharmaceutical consumption according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification/Defined Daily Dose (DDD) system, created by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology. The unit of measurement is Defined Daily Dose (DDD), defined as the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used on its main indication in adults. The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system divides drugs into different groups according to the organ system on which they act and/or therapeutical, pharmacological and chemical characteristics. The main principles for the classification of medicinal substances according to the ATC is presented in the publication “Guidelines for ATC classification and DDD assignment”, WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology, Oslo. The publication “ATC Index with DDDs” lists all assigned ATC codes and DDD values. Both these publications are updated annually. The ATC codes are based on the 2026 version of the ATC Index. All alterations implemented from January 2026 are available on the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology website at https://www.whocc.no/lists_of__temporary_atc_ddds_and_alterations/. Data should reflect, where possible, the total consumption for each pharmaceutical drug category, i.e. including consumption in hospitals. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.