Insee Première · January 2025 · n° 2036

Pharmacists' income revitalized during Covid-19 crisis years

In 2022, there were fewer pharmacies than in 2015, but they employed more people and their turnover was higher. More than 80% of pharmacies were organised as companies.

There was little change in pharmacy activity between 2015 and 2020; against a backdrop of regulated selling prices for reimbursable medicines, turnover grew moderately, while trade margins stagnated or even declined slightly. By contrast, business accelerated significantly in 2021 and 2022, in line with the new missions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic: turnover rose by more than 8% each year, while the trade margins recovered significantly. These trends are reflected in the real income of self-employed pharmacists, which remained stable or declined until 2020 – except for of a peak in 2018 – before rising sharply in 2021 and 2022. However, activity slowed down in 2023.