The US remains the top global pharma market, and is home to most of the top global pharma companies. In 2023, North America accounted for 53.3% of all global pharmaceutical sales, while Europe accounted for 22.7%.
The total market size of the global pharmaceutical industry was estimated at USD 1,559.53 billion in 2023, and may surpass USD 2,832.66 billion by 2033, according to Vision Research Reports. It is expected to grow at an annual CAGR rate of 6.15% from 2024 to 2033.
The global pharmaceutical industry employed 74.9 million workforce (44.7 million direct jobs and 22.4 million jobs through supply chain). The industry contributed USD 2,295 billion to the global GDP, with R&D contributing USD 227 billion.
US pharmaceutical companies dominate the list of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies, with 9 out of the 20 companies, followed by Germany (3), Switzerland (2), UK (2), France (1), Denmark (1), Japan (1), and Israel (1).
According to data by Fierce Pharma, the list of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies by revenues include:
No
Pharmaceutical Companies
Global Headquarters
Revenue (in USD)
1
Johnson & Johnson
New Brunswick, New Jersey, US
US$85.16 billion
2
F. Hoffmann-La Roche
Basel, Switzerland
US$65.32 billion
3
Merck & Company
Rahway, New Jersey, US
US$60.1 billion
4
Pfizer
Manhattan, New York City, US
US$58.5 billion
5
AbbVie
North Chicago, Illinois, US
US$54.3 billion
6
Sanofi
Paris, France
US$46.6 billion
7
AstraZeneca
Cambridge, U.K.
US$45.81 billion
8
Novartis
Basel, Switzerland
US$45.44 billion
9
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Princeton, New Jersey, US
US$45 billion
10
GSK
London, United Kingdom
US$38.4 billion
11
Eli Lilly
Indianapolis, Indiana, US
$34.1 billion
12
Novo Nordisk
Bagsværd, Denmark
$33.7 billion
13
Amgen
Thousand Oaks, California, US
$28.2 billion
14
Boehringer Ingelheim
Ingelheim, Germany
$27.7 billion
15
Takeda
Tokyo, Japan
$27 billion
16
Gilead Sciences
Foster City, California, US
$26.9 billion
17
Bayer
Darmstadt, Germany
$26.1 billion
18
Merck KGaA
Darmstadt, Germany
$18.8 billion
19
Teva
Tel Aviv, Israel
$15.8 billion
20
Viatris
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, US
$15.4 billion
The Global Pharmaceutical Markets
The top ten global pharmaceutical markets include heavyweights like the US, China, Japan, Germany and other countries (mostly in Europe):
No
Countries
Market Share (%)
Sales (USD)
1
United States
44.4%
714.3 billion
2
China
7%
111.9 billion
3
Japan
4%
64.8 billion
4
Germany
4%
64.7 billion
5
France
2.9%
46.5 billion
6
Italy
2.6%
40.7 billion
7
United Kingdom
2.4%
37.9 billion
8
Spain
2%
32.2 billion
9
Brazil
2%
31.7 billion
10
Canada
1%
31.2 billion
The North American Pharmaceutical Market
The North American market (USA & Canada) is the world’s largest market with a 53.3% share, well ahead of Europe, China and Japan.
The U.S. pharmaceutical market size was USD 602.19 billion in 2023, and projected to grow to USD 639.22 billion in 2024. Expanding at a CAGR of 6.15% from 2024 to 2033, it is also forecasted to grow to USD 1,093.79 billion by 2033
European Pharmaceutical Industry
The European pharmaceutical market is expected to reach USD 432.12 billion by the end of 2028, growing at a CAGR of 5.4% annually.
The European pharmaceutical industry is facing heavy competition by emerging economies like China and Korea. Europe invested more than €42,500 million in R&D in Europe in 2021, but can only equal China in launching of new active molecules (16 and 17 new substances) in 2022. This is far behind the 24 (out of the total of 73) launched by the US.
Latin American Pharma Market
In 2021, the Latin American pharmaceutical market growth is the fastest worldwide, at 15.6%.
The largest pharmaceutical markets in Latin America are Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Chile. Brazil is the only Latin American country among the top 10 global pharmaceutical markets. It has a global share of 2.2%, and a value of an estimated 23 billion U.S. dollars.
Mexico is the 15th-largest market for pharmaceuticals globally, and second largest in the Latin America after Brazil. It has a strong manufacturing base of antibiotics, analgesics, and antiparasitics. The proximity to the United States is also an added advantage.
Asian-Pacific Pharmaceutical Sector
The Asian pharmaceutical industry will grow at 4.2% from 2022 to 2027. China and Japan remain the dominant force in the region by market value, at $152.79 billion and $82.67 billion respectively. The two countries are also the second and third-largest pharmaceutical markets globally.
China, Japan, and Korea leads in pharmaceutical innovations with many drug pipelines such as advanced CGTs and mRNAs, after the United States
Japan, South Korea, and Australia are the most developed markets in the region, while India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia are emerging markets.
Generics products is the leading product segment by volume. China and India are global leaders in APIs production.
The three largest pharmaceutical companies in Asia are Sinopharm, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited.
The top 10 pharmaceutical markets in Asia include:
China
Japan
South Korea
India
Indonesia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
Malaysia
Singapore
The Middle East and Africa (MEA) Pharma Market
The total market size in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) is estimated at $32.6 billion. The market is expected to grow to ~USD 51 billion in 2024 growing at an annual CAGR of 4.6% (2018 through 2023)
Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the MEA region, with a share of 36% ($11.6 billion) for all sales in the region. Egypt has a share of 15%, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at 13%, is also the fastest growing market in the region, with $4.1 billion worth of sales. South Africa accounts for $3.2 billion worth of sales.
