With 20 pharmacies per 100,000 inhabitants, Germany is well below the EU average of 31. The local pharmacy network is comparatively sparse – and is becoming increasingly sparse, as the number of pharmacies has been falling for years. But does this automatically mean that local access to pharmacies is no longer adequately guaranteed? At the Thünen Institute of Rural Development, this provision issue was investigated using the Thünen Accessibility Model. The model analyses, across the whole of Germany, how access to local pharmacies has developed since 2013, how easily people in Germany can reach their nearest pharmacy, and in which regions pharmacy provision is particularly good or poor.
A key finding: for most people, the distance to the nearest pharmacy did not increase significantly between 2013 and 2024. However, pharmacy closures tend to affect rural residents who walk to the pharmacy. They then have to accept that they will have to travel further to reach the nearest pharmacy. Those who live in cities or have access to transport do not feel the impact of a closure as directly.
All the results and details of the study can be found in the new Thünen à la carte:
