World pharmaceutical market distribution by submarket 2014-2023
Global pharmaceutical market
In 2006, the United States pharmaceutical market accounted for half of the world’s market, with other established markets only accounting for about 37 percent. More recently, the gap between the American market and other markets has shrunk. As of 2023, the U.S. market accounted for 51 percent, emerging markets accounted for 23 percent, and Europe totaled 19 percent of the global pharmaceutical market. Revenue generated by the pharmaceutical market has continued to rise in North America, generating some 666 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.
In the United States, the pharmaceutical market makes up a smaller part of overall healthcare spending. Growth in drug expenditures in the United States has periodically slowed, likely due to increased costs for consumers, new generic medication, conversion to over-the-counter drugs, and safety concerns. A large portion of pharmaceutical expenditure is dedicated to oncologics, respiratory agents, lipid regulators, antidiabetics, and antipsychotics. The world’s pharmaceutical market reached some 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars of revenue in 2023.