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Who buys the United Kingdom’s medicines? Export destinations 2024

In 2024, the United Kingdom exported $17.4 billion of medicines (141 thousand tonnes), 3.6% of the world total. Its main destinations were the United States (19%), Germany (12%) and Ireland (9%). The United Kingdom was the world’s 10th-largest exporter of medicines.

Summary

Value
$17.4billion
Tonnes
141thousand tonnes
Share of world total
3.6%
World rank
10th
Routes to the main destinations. Width: value; color: estimated transport mode.SeaAirLand

Destinations

The 20 main destinations in the latest year.

PartnerValue (USD billions)TonnesUSD per tonneShareMode
United States3.3Tonnes: 6,122USD per tonne: $539,64719%Air
Germany2.1Tonnes: 4,732USD per tonne: $449,37412.2%Air
Ireland1.6Tonnes: 8,957USD per tonne: $173,3198.9%Land
China1.1Tonnes: 1,367USD per tonne: $775,2696.1%Air
France1Tonnes: 14,588USD per tonne: $69,8785.9%Air
Spain0.72Tonnes: 9,403USD per tonne: $76,3884.1%Air
Belgium re-exports0.66Tonnes: 12,771USD per tonne: $51,8613.8%Air
Japan0.62Tonnes: 3,206USD per tonne: $194,7673.6%Air
United Arab Emirates0.51Tonnes: 3,131USD per tonne: $162,4532.9%Air
Netherlands re-exports0.45Tonnes: 7,156USD per tonne: $62,2402.6%Sea
Russia0.36Tonnes: 7,314USD per tonne: $48,9202.1%Sea
Switzerland0.33Tonnes: 1,187USD per tonne: $280,3911.9%Air
Australia0.31Tonnes: 6,730USD per tonne: $46,2411.8%Sea
Saudi Arabia0.29Tonnes: 3,500USD per tonne: $82,2191.7%Air
Norway0.29Tonnes: 342USD per tonne: $836,8651.7%Air
Canada0.22Tonnes: 1,848USD per tonne: $119,1871.3%Air
Poland0.21Tonnes: 5,424USD per tonne: $39,4201.2%Sea
Israel0.21Tonnes: 1,116USD per tonne: $191,4121.2%Air
South Korea0.19Tonnes: 620USD per tonne: $304,1421.1%Air
Brazil0.18Tonnes: 3,044USD per tonne: $60,2921.1%Air

Trend

Who it sells to

The United States has been its main destination since 2023

Value in USD billions. The five largest destinations in 2024.

  • United States 3.3
  • Germany 2.1
  • Ireland 1.6
  • China 1.1
  • France 1

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Partner19952024
United States0.693.3
Germany0.462.1
Ireland0.271.6
China0.011.1
France0.631

Sources and methodology

Other products of this country

Sources and licenses

Methodology

Goods trade from CEPII BACI (BACI_HS92_V202601), which reconciles what exporters and importers report: countries that stopped reporting (Russia since 2022) appear with their partners’ data. FOB values in current US dollars; tonnes when BACI reports them. The price per tonne is the value of the rows with a weight divided by that weight. The transport mode is our own estimate based on value per kilo and geography. Data up to 2024.

Hong Kong, Singapore, the Netherlands and Belgium re-export goods from other countries: their figures include transit.

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