World pharmaceutical market distribution by submarket 2014-2024

This statistic shows the distribution of the total global pharmaceutical market sales from 2014 to 2024, by submarket. In 2024, the U.S. pharmaceutical market generated some 52 percent of total global market sales. 

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. But as of 2024, the U.S. market accounted for 52 percent, emerging markets accounted for 22 percent, and Europe totaled 19 percent of the global pharmaceutical market.

In the United States, the pharmaceutical market forms 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.