Number of Pharmacies
In Estonia, there are three types of pharmacies: general pharmacies, hospital pharmacies and veterinary pharmacies. Pharmacies may have branch pharmacies as structural units. Licensed general pharmacies can also offer the e-pharmacy service.
Table 1. No of pharmacies (in the beginning of the year)
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General pharmacies |
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Hospital pharmacies |
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Veterinary pharmacies |
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In 2025, there was an average of one pharmacy per 2,890 inhabitants in Estonia.
Turnover of Pharmacies
Total turnover of all general and hospital pharmacies
Total turnover of medicines in general and hospital pharmacies
In 2025, the turnover of medicines in general and hospital pharmacies was 619 million euros. The average expenditure on medicines per inhabitant of Estonia was 452 euros per year, in total. The average amount spent on medicines was 352 euros in general pharmacies and 100 euros in hospital pharmacies, accounting for an increase of 10% compared to the previous year.
Expenditure on medicines
Total turnover of general pharmacies by counties
Almost a third of general pharmacies are located in Estonia's largest cities, Tallinn and Tartu, therefore the turnover of pharmacies by county also varies greatly mainly concentrated in Harju and Tartu counties.
General Pharmacies
Turnover of medicines and other products
The turnover of general pharmacies includes sales of medicines and sales of other products. In 2025, 75% (482 million euros) and 25% (159 million euros), respectively.
The turnover of medicines includes sales of non-prescription medicines (79 million euros), prescription medicines (401 million euros) and veterinary medicines (1.8 million euros). The other products sold in pharmacies include hygiene products, medical supplies, medical devices, cosmetics etc (159 million euros in total).
Turnover of reimbursed medicines
The turnover of prescription medicines can in turn be divided into turnover of medicines reimbursed by the Estonian Health Insurance Fund (EHIF) or not. In 2025, the turnover of reimbursed medicines increased by 9% compared to the previous year. The share of patient and the Health Fund was 22% and 78%, respectively.
Prescriptions handled
In 2025, 13.2 million prescriptions were handled in general pharmacies. The prescriptions reimbursed by EHIF has the largest proportion (11 million prescriptions), and the number of prescriptions without discounts was 2.2 million.
Hospital Pharmacies
In 2025, the total turnover of hospital pharmacies was 178 million euros, with an increase by 7% in total (calculated without VAT).
e-Pharmacy Market
Table 2. Turnover of general pharmacies and e-pharmacies and share of e-Pharmacy market in 2021-2025
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
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Total turnover of general pharmacies |
461 |
506 |
542 |
594 |
641 |
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Turnover of other products |
138 |
147 |
149 |
154 |
159 |
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Turnover of medicines |
323 |
359 |
393 |
439 |
482 |
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Turnover of non-prescription medicines |
63 |
75 |
75 |
75 |
79 |
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Turnover of prescription medicines |
259 |
283 |
316 |
362 |
401 |
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Estonian e-Pharmacy-market (million euros) |
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2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
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8,7 |
10,3 |
12,6 |
16,8 |
20,7 |
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Turnover of other products |
6,8 |
7,6 |
9,6 |
12,9 |
15,3 |
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Turnover of medicines |
1,9 |
2,7 |
3,0 |
3,9 |
5,4 |
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Turnover of non-prescription medicines |
0,8 |
1,1 |
1,0 |
1,1 |
1,5 |
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Turnover of prescription medicines |
1,1 |
1,6 |
2,0 |
2,7 |
3,7 |
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Share of e-Pharmacies (%) |
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2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
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Total turnover of general pharmacies |
1,9% |
2,0% |
2,3% |
2,8% |
3,2% |
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Turnover of other products |
5,0% |
5,2% |
6,4% |
8,3% |
9,6% |
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Turnover of medicines |
0,6% |
0,8% |
0,8% |
0,9% |
1,1% |
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Turnover of non-prescription medicines |
1,2% |
1,4% |
1,4% |
1,5% |
1,9% |
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Turnover of prescription medicines |
0,4% |
0,6% |
0,6% |
0,7% |
0,9% |
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Last updated: 16.04.2026
