List of countries by antidepressant consumption

This is a list of countries by antidepressant consumption according to data published by the OECD.

OECD list

The source for the data below is the OECD Health Statistics 2018, released by the OECD in June 2018 and updated on 8 November 2018. ^[1]

The unit of measurement used by the OECD is defined daily dose (DDD), defined as "the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used on its main indication in adults". ^[2] The sources used by the OECD are primarily national health authorities. ^[2] Definitions, sources and methodology per country is explained further in a document available on the OECD website. ^[2] The OECD have not included the United States in these reviews, but if added the country would have the highest or second-highest rate. ^[3]

Country	Defined daily dosage per 1,000 inhabitants per day	Year	Data include drugs dispensed in hospitals	Data include non- reimbursed drugs	Data include OTC drugs	Notes
Iceland	141.4	2017	Yes	Yes	Yes
Australia	106.7	2016	No	Yes	No
Portugal	103.6	2017	No	Yes [note 1]	Yes [note 2]
United Kingdom	100.1	2016	No	No	—
Canada	99.6	2017	No	No	See note [note 3]	[note 4]
Sweden	96.8	2017	Yes	Yes	Yes [note 5]
Belgium	79.0	2016	No	No	No
Denmark	77.0	2015	Yes	Yes	Yes
Spain	75.5	2016	No	No	No
New Zealand	72.8	2014	—	—	—	[note 6]
Finland	67.6	2016	Yes [note 7]	Yes	Yes
Austria	60.5	2016	No [note 8]	See note [note 9]	No
Slovenia	58.6	2016	No	See note [note 10]	See note [note 11]
Norway	57.1	2017	Yes	Yes	Yes
Czech Republic	57.1	2016	Yes	Yes	Yes
Germany	56.5	2016	No	See note [note 12]	No
Luxembourg	52.7	2017	No	No	No	[note 4]
France	49.8	2009	Yes [note 13]	Yes	Yes
Israel	49.2	2017	No	No	No
Greece	48.1	2015	No	No	No	[note 6]
Netherlands	46.1	2016	No	No	No
Chile	41.4	2017	Yes	—	Yes
Turkey	41.0	2016	No	Yes	See note [note 14]
Italy	40.3	2017	—	No	No	[note 15]
Slovakia	38.9	2016	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hungary	28.8	2017	No	No	No
Estonia	28.8	2017	Yes	Yes	Yes
South Korea	19.9	2016	Yes	Yes	Yes
Latvia	13.3	2016	—	—	—

See also

• Antidepressant
• List of countries by suicide rate

Notes

1. Data include both reimbursed and non-reimbursed products.
2. Yes, but only OTC products sold in pharmacies.
3. Generally, claims for OTC drugs are not reimbursed, but OTC drugs are not explicitly excluded.
4. Provisional value.
5. Data include OTC drugs both from pharmacies and from other retailers.
6. Difference in methodology.
7. Data are based on wholesale of pharmaceuticals.
8. Drug consumption in hospitals and in hospital ambulances is excluded.
9. Data cover only drugs reimbursed by the sickness funds within the statutory health insurance.
10. Data include all medicines with a medical prescription – compulsory health insurance, regardless of the reimbursement.
11. Only OTC drugs with a medical prescription.
12. Data contain exclusively the drug consumption debited to the statutory health insurance (i.e. drugs reimbursed by German Statutory Health Insurance).
13. Data include drug consumption both in hospitals and in pharmacies.
14. Data include drugs dispensed in pharmacies and non-reimbursed drugs.
15. Estimated value.

References

1. "OECD Health Statistics 2018". OECD. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
2. "OECD Health Statistics 2018: Definitions, Sources and Methods". OECD. June 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
3. Gould, S.; L.F. Friedman (4 February 2016). "Something startling is going on with antidepressant use around the world". Business Insider. Retrieved 18 July 2020.

External links

• Gould, Skye; Friedman, Lauren F. (6 October 2016). "Antidepressant use is rising sharply around the world". Business Insider . Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
• OECD "Health at a Glance 2023" statistics from 2023