Antibiotic consumption rate in Sweden

Sweden: Antibiotic consumption rate was 9.67 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
9.67 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day
Change on year
down 2.7%
World rank
44th
of 46 countries
All-time high
12.61 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day
in 2016
All-time low
9.67 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day
in 2021
Years of data
6
2016–2021

Antibiotic consumption rate in Sweden, 2016–2021

0510152016201820212016: 12.6 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day2017: 12.1 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day2018: 11.8 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day2019: 11.4 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day2020: 9.9 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day2021: 9.7 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day

Source: WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day.

Analysis

Sweden recorded 9.67 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day for antibiotic consumption rate in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.

That represents a change of down 2.7% on the previous year and down 23.3% over ten years.

That places Sweden 44th out of 46 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 11.96 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day 11.36 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day 12.61 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day 4
2020s 9.8 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day 9.67 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day 9.94 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day 2

Countries ranked near Sweden

  1. 41 Austria 11.89 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day compare
  2. 42 Switzerland 11.36 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day compare
  3. 43 Ukraine 10.65 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day compare
  4. 45 Mali 8.42 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day compare
  5. 46 Honduras 5.66 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day compare

See the full ranking of 46 places →

More economy & growth data for Sweden

All data for Sweden →

Frequently asked questions

What is antibiotic consumption rate in Sweden?
Antibiotic consumption rate in Sweden was 9.67 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day in 2021, according to WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest antibiotic consumption rate recorded in Sweden?
The highest recorded value was 12.61 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day in 2016.
What is the lowest antibiotic consumption rate recorded in Sweden?
The lowest recorded value was 9.67 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day in 2021.
How does Sweden rank for antibiotic consumption rate?
Sweden ranks 44th out of 46 countries with data for 2021.
Is antibiotic consumption rate rising or falling in Sweden?
Over the last ten years it is down 23.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Sweden data come from?
The figures come from WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Antibiotic consumption rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Antibiotic consumption rate
Unit
defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day
Source
WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
46 places, 344 data points, 2016–2023
Last refreshed

Total defined daily doses of antibiotics and antituberculosis drugs used in a given year per 1,000 inhabitants per day.