Number of pharmacies as low as in 40 years

In addition to the higher costs, the increasing bureaucratic documentation requirements in particular are likely to deter many pharmacists. After a number of medicines were affected by delivery bottlenecks, the stress at the pharmacy counter increased again. Many pharmacists simply cannot find successors.

In times of an aging population, the declining number of pharmacies is bad news. In a European comparison, Germany thus ranks in the bottom third. At the end of last year, there were 22 pharmacies for every 100,000 inhabitants in this country. In countries like Greece (88), Romania (44) or Estonia (38), the supply is significantly better: