Key figures
- Germany is the largest exporter of pharmaceuticals on the map, at $121 billion in 2023.
- Switzerland ($100 billion) and the United States ($93 billion) come second and third.
- Belgium and Ireland both show $84 billion, ranked fourth and fifth.
- Global pharmaceutical exports passed $900 billion in 2023, with average growth of 9.7% a year since 2000.
- EU members, counting trade between EU countries, made 63% of world pharmaceutical exports; exports from the EU to the rest of the world were $298 billion.
All figures are from the graphic, which cites the WTO.
Pharmaceutical exports by country in 2023
Title: Global Leaders in Pharmaceutical Exports. Text on the graphic: “Global pharmaceutical exports surpassed $900 billion in 2023, growing 2.3 times faster than total goods trade between 2000 and 2023, with an impressive annual growth rate of 9.7% (CAGR). The European Union, including intra-EU trade, accounted for 63% of global pharmaceutical exports, with nine of the top ten exporters originating from EU member states.”
The world map is shaded by export value on a stepped scale headed Exports (2023, Billion US$), with breaks at 0, 0.05, 0.5, 5, 50 and 125, and grey for no data. The ten largest exporters carry numbered circles. The table lists every labelled value in the order the graphic ranks them, then the unranked labels.
| Rank | Country | Exports, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | $121B |
| 2 | Switzerland | $100B |
| 3 | U.S. | $93B |
| 4 | Belgium | $84B |
| 5 | Ireland | $84B |
| 6 | Netherlands | $59B |
| 7 | Italy | $52B |
| 8 | France | $39B |
| 9 | UK | $30B |
| 10 | Denmark | $23B |
| Spain | $23B | |
| India | $23B | |
| China | $20B | |
| Canada | $9.7B | |
| Japan | $7.8B | |
| S. Korea | $6.5B | |
| Australia | $3.2B | |
| Mexico | $2.4B | |
| Brazil | $1.3B | |
| Russia | $0.59B | |
| South Africa | $0.49B | |
| Extra EU (EU exports to countries outside the EU) | $298B |
Footer: Sources: WTO. www.econovis.net, @econovisuals.
How concentrated pharmaceutical exports are
By our own arithmetic, the ten ranked countries add up to $685 billion, or roughly three quarters of the $900 billion plus world total given on the graphic. Most of the dark shading sits in western Europe, with the United States the only top five exporter outside Europe.
Other datasets put the same countries at the top, in a slightly different order. The Observatory of Economic Complexity figures for 2023, quoted on Wikipedia, give Germany $116.8 billion, the United States $91.3 billion, Ireland $86.2 billion and Switzerland $81.0 billion [3]. International Trade Centre figures for 2024 list world pharmaceutical exports of $929 billion, led by Germany ($129.1 billion), Switzerland ($110.7 billion), the United States ($102.5 billion), Ireland ($89.8 billion) and Belgium ($84.9 billion) [3]. Germany is first in all three.
The gaps between sources come from how each one records the trade (for example which customs codes are counted and whether the importer or exporter reports it), so the figures on this map should be read as WTO estimates rather than exact totals.
Notes on this infographic
- The text says nine of the top ten exporters are EU member states. Only seven are: Germany, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Denmark [4]. Switzerland is not an EU member [4], the United Kingdom left on 31 January 2020 [5], and the United States is the third. Nine of the ten are European countries.
- The leader line for “10 Denmark $23B” ends in central Sweden, not on Denmark. Readers of the creator’s post pointed this out [2]. The value belongs to Denmark.
- Belgium and Ireland are both shown as $84 billion, and Denmark, Spain and India as $23 billion; the ranking reflects unrounded figures we could not see.
- Data year: 2023. Source as printed: WTO.
Questions about pharmaceutical exports by country
Which country exports the most pharmaceuticals?
Germany is the largest exporter of pharmaceuticals, at $121 billion in 2023, according to the WTO figures on the Econovis map. Switzerland ($100 billion) and the United States ($93 billion) come second and third, with Belgium and Ireland both at $84 billion. Germany is also first in Observatory of Economic Complexity figures for 2023 and International Trade Centre figures for 2024 [3].
How much are global pharmaceutical exports worth?
Global pharmaceutical exports passed $900 billion in 2023, growing 2.3 times faster than total goods trade between 2000 and 2023, with average growth of 9.7% a year (CAGR). International Trade Centre figures for 2024 list world pharmaceutical exports of $929 billion [3]. The ten largest exporters on the map add up to $685 billion, roughly three quarters of the world total.
What share of pharmaceutical exports comes from the EU?
EU members made 63% of world pharmaceutical exports in 2023, counting trade between EU countries, and exports from the EU to countries outside it were $298 billion. The graphic says nine of the top ten exporters are EU member states, but only seven are: Germany, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Denmark [4]. Switzerland is not an EU member [4] and the UK left on 31 January 2020 [5].
How much pharmaceuticals does India export?
India exported $23 billion of pharmaceuticals in 2023 on the WTO map, the same figure shown for Denmark and Spain. China follows at $20 billion, with Canada at $9.7 billion and Japan at $7.8 billion. Denmark is ranked tenth ahead of India and Spain because the ranking reflects unrounded figures that the graphic does not show.
Sources
- Econovis, Global Leaders in Pharmaceutical Exports, 4 January 2025 (original post).
- u/EconomySoltani, Global Leaders in Pharmaceutical Exports, r/Infographics, with reader comments on the Denmark label.
- Wikipedia, List of countries by pharmaceutical exports (OEC 2023 and ITC 2024 tables).
- European Union, EU countries (27 member states).
- Wikipedia, Brexit.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
