The number of pharmacies in Spain increased gradually in the last years, reaching a total of 22,222 establishments by 2023, of which 3,876 were in the autonomous community of Andalusia. This autonomous community was the region with the largest number of pharmacies in the country, followed by Catalonia, the Community of Madrid, and the region of Valencia. The Spanish community with the highest density of pharmacies was Navarre, with approximately nine pharmacies per ten thousand inhabitants.Â
Pharmaceutical sales
The net value of drugs sold in Spanish pharmacies grew from 8.8 billion euros in 2012 to 10.76 billion in 2022. Of the different therapeutic groups, medications acting on the nervous system were the top-selling drugs, which included, analgesics and psycholeptics. These medicines accounted for 23 percent of the total pharmaceutical sales that year, more than drugs for the digestive system, metabolism, and those aimed at cardiovascular diseases.
Public expenditure on prescription medicines
The number of drug prescriptions dispensed in pharmacies and financed by the social security system in Spain reached over one billion in 2021, around 43.5 million more than the previous year. The Spanish National Health System spent over 11.7 billion euros on prescription medicines that same year, which represents approximately six percent more than a year earlier. In 2021, total public health expenditure surpassed the 87.94 billion euros in the country.