The study, presented in Athens in collaboration with the Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies (SFEE), highlights both the sector’s strong economic footprint and the demographic and fiscal challenges that threaten to reshape healthcare in the years ahead.
The report, published annually under the title The Pharmaceutical Market in Greece: Facts and Figures 2024, outlines the performance and prospects of the sector within Greece and across Europe. While the industry has maintained a strong role in exports, research, and employment, the analysis also points to pressures stemming from Greece’s aging population, high pharmaceutical spending, and slow adoption of innovative medicines.
Life expectancy in Greece returned in 2024 to 81.9 years, just above the European Union average, after a temporary decline during the pandemic. But the country’s demographic trajectory poses significant challenges: nearly a quarter of the population is already over 65, a share expected to rise to one-third by 2070. With birth rates low and deaths exceeding births, the population is projected to fall to eight million by that time.
Meanwhile, almost one in four Greeks over the age of 16 lives with a chronic health condition, a proportion that rises to more than 60 percent among the elderly. These shifts are expected to fuel rising demand for healthcare services and pharmaceuticals.
Pharmaceutical expenditure has been climbing steadily. Total spending, covering both retail and hospital medicines, was €7.5 billion in 2023 and is estimated to have reached €8.5 billion in 2024. Public outlays account for roughly a third of this sum, while the pharmaceutical industry itself bears a growing burden through mandatory rebates and clawbacks, which rose to €4.6 billion in 2024. Patients, too, are paying more out of pocket, with contributions rising to €810 million last year. The redistribution of spending across distribution channels has created further imbalances, particularly for hospital and high-cost medicines.
At the same time, Greek patients face slower access to new treatments compared with their European counterparts. Between 2020 and 2023, only 75 of the 173 newly approved medicines in Europe were introduced in Greece, and just one in five innovative drugs from the past four years is currently available on the domestic market.
Despite these challenges, the pharmaceutical industry remains one of Greece’s most dynamic sectors. Research and development expenditure reached €161 million in 2022, while more than 2,000 clinical trials have been carried out in the country since the mid-1990s.
The industry also plays a growing role in Greece’s external trade, with pharmaceutical exports amounting to €2.8 billion in 2024, or 5.7 percent of total goods exports, primarily to Germany, Austria, and Cyprus. Imports, by contrast, represented 5.1 percent of overall goods imports.
The sector’s broader impact on the economy is significant. For every euro of value added generated by pharmaceutical companies, another €1.3 is created across the wider economy. Employment effects are equally substantial: the industry supports around 119,000 jobs, or 2.8 percent of the country’s total, with each position in the pharmaceutical sector sustaining 2.4 jobs elsewhere. Tax revenues linked to the industry are estimated at €1.9 billion.
