In 2022, the United Kingdom imported around 19 billion U.S. billion dollars’ worth of pharmaceutical products from the rest of the European Union. This is a significant decrease compared to years before the Brexit when imports were up to 27 billion dollars. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic might also be a cause for this development.
Which countries are the products coming from?
Of the EU, Belgium had the second highest value of pharmaceutical products imported into the UK, amounting to some 2.1 billion British pounds in 2022, topped only by Germany at approximately 4.9 billion British pounds. The UK had a negative trade balance with Belgium of around 1.4 billion British pounds, which means the UK imports a considerable amount more pharmaceutical goods from there than it exports.
Impact of Brexit
In a 2018 survey of EU influencers, 32 percent believed that EU pharmaceutical companies will be negatively affected by Brexit, while 41 percent believes that trade barriers will potentially impact the supply of medicines. Additionally, another survey of pharmaceutical industry board level executives revealed that half of those question indicated that Brexit had impacted on the attractiveness of the UK pharmaceutical market.
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Value of pharmaceutical products imported into the United Kingdom (UK) from the EU-27 from 2018 to 2022
(in million U.S. dollars)
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OECD. (June 20, 2023). Value of pharmaceutical products imported into the United Kingdom (UK) from the EU-27 from 2018 to 2022 (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 26, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/497337/united-kingdom-uk-import-value-pharmaceutical-products-from-the-european-union/
OECD. "Value of pharmaceutical products imported into the United Kingdom (UK) from the EU-27 from 2018 to 2022 (in million U.S. dollars)." Chart. June 20, 2023. Statista. Accessed June 26, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/497337/united-kingdom-uk-import-value-pharmaceutical-products-from-the-european-union/
OECD. (2023). Value of pharmaceutical products imported into the United Kingdom (UK) from the EU-27 from 2018 to 2022 (in million U.S. dollars). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: June 26, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/497337/united-kingdom-uk-import-value-pharmaceutical-products-from-the-european-union/
OECD. "Value of Pharmaceutical Products Imported into The United Kingdom (Uk) from The Eu-27 from 2018 to 2022 (in Million U.S. Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 20 Jun 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/497337/united-kingdom-uk-import-value-pharmaceutical-products-from-the-european-union/
OECD, Value of pharmaceutical products imported into the United Kingdom (UK) from the EU-27 from 2018 to 2022 (in million U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/497337/united-kingdom-uk-import-value-pharmaceutical-products-from-the-european-union/ (last visited June 26, 2025)
Value of pharmaceutical products imported into the United Kingdom (UK) from the EU-27 from 2018 to 2022 (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph], OECD, June 20, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/497337/united-kingdom-uk-import-value-pharmaceutical-products-from-the-european-union/