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TL;DR · figures checked 30 October 2026
- The six GCC countries had about 63.4 million people in 2025 by our sum of World Bank estimates; Saudi Arabia is 58.3% of that.[1]
- Health spending per person in 2023 ranged from USD 732 (Oman) to USD 2,402 (UAE).[3]
- Households paid 28.7% of health spending out of pocket in Bahrain and 14.1% in Saudi Arabia, against 6.3% in Oman (2023).[4]
- Between 17.0% and 25.6% of adults aged 20 to 79 have diabetes (age-standardised, 2024), and 37% to 64% of them are undiagnosed.[5]
- Adult obesity in 2024 reached 51.7% of women in Qatar and 48.5% in Saudi Arabia.[6]
- One openly published estimate puts the GCC OTC drugs market at USD 3.7 billion (2025), about 47.5% of it in Saudi Arabia (IMARC Group estimate).[13]
Most pages on the “GCC healthcare market” quote one market value and no source you can open. A brand or trade team needs the demand side: how many people, how much they spend on health, how much comes out of their own pocket, which conditions bring them to the pharmacy counter, and how reachable they are online.
This page collects those numbers for the six GCC countries, one row per country, each from an official, intergovernmental or peer-reviewed source, with the year it describes. Where only a market-research estimate exists, we say so and name the publisher. For the Saudi pharmacy channel itself, see our companion page on Saudi pharmacy market statistics.
Method and limits
- Same source across countries: where possible each table uses one source for all six countries, so the rows are comparable. Mixing a national survey for one country with a model estimate for another produces false gaps.
- Years differ by topic: health spending is 2023 (the latest year in the WHO database), diabetes and smoking 2024, population 2025. Each table states its year.
- Residents, not citizens: the international series count everyone living in the country. In most GCC states non-nationals are a large share of residents, and their age and sex profile shapes every rate below.
- Market size: no GCC government publishes an OTC market value. The only figures used are openly published on the research firm’s own site and are labelled as that firm’s estimate.
- Our arithmetic: totals and shares marked “our sum” or “our calculation” are PharmaGrowth arithmetic on the cited figures. Figures checked 30 October 2026.
How many people live in each GCC country?
About 63.4 million people lived in the six GCC countries in 2025 by our sum of World Bank estimates, and Saudi Arabia alone accounts for 58.3% of them. The UAE is the second market by headcount, with roughly a third of the Saudi population.[1]
| Country | Population, 2025 (World Bank) | Share of GCC total (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 36,973,555 | 58.3% |
| United Arab Emirates | 11,513,149 | 18.2% |
| Oman | 5,494,691 | 8.7% |
| Kuwait | 4,865,298 | 7.7% |
| Qatar | 2,972,215 | 4.7% |
| Bahrain | 1,600,366 | 2.5% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL), 2025 values, series last updated 8 October 2026.[1]
Two sources disagree for Saudi Arabia, and the reason matters. The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) estimated 35.3 million people in mid-2024, up 4.7% on 2023, with Saudi citizens at 55.6% and non-Saudis at 44.4%.[2] The World Bank’s 36,973,555 is for 2025, a year later, and its population series draws on the United Nations World Population Prospects as well as national offices, so the two are not measuring the same year by the same method. For a Saudi business case we prefer the GASTAT figure, because it is built on the 2022 census and administrative records.
What it means for a brand team: population sets the ceiling, not the market. A country with a fifth of Saudi Arabia’s people can still justify its own distributor and launch budget if spending per head is high, which is the next table. GASTAT also reports that non-Saudis are 89.9% working-age (15 to 64), against 62.7% for Saudis, while 33.5% of Saudis are under 15.[2] That is two different shoppers in one market: a young family buying children’s fever and cough products, and a large working-age, mostly male resident group buying pain relief and cold remedies.
How much does each GCC country spend on health?
Current health spending per person in 2023 ranged from USD 732 in Oman to USD 2,402 in the UAE, and from 2.5% of GDP in Qatar to 5.7% in Saudi Arabia.[3]
| Country | Health spending per capita, USD (2023) | Health spending, % of GDP (2023) | Government share of health spending (2023) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 1,825 | 5.7% | 77.8% |
| United Arab Emirates | 2,402 | 5.0% | 66.8% |
| Kuwait | 1,679 | 5.0% | 88.5% |
| Qatar | 1,804 | 2.5% | 83.0% |
| Bahrain | 1,176 | 4.0% | 59.3% |
| Oman | 732 | 3.5% | 85.3% |
Source: WHO Global Health Expenditure Database (updated 12 December 2025), published through the World Bank indicators SH.XPD.CHEX.PC.CD, SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS and SH.XPD.GHED.CH.ZS, data year 2023.[3][4]
Qatar’s low share of GDP is a reminder that the ratio depends on the size of the economy as much as on health spending: its spending per person is close to Saudi Arabia’s. The government column is the other half of the story. In Kuwait, Oman and Qatar the state pays more than four fifths of all health spending; in Bahrain and the UAE the private side is much larger.
What it means for a brand team: where government pays most of the bill, prescription medicines reach patients mostly through public hospitals and tenders, and the retail pharmacy is the main place where the consumer pays and chooses. That makes the pharmacy channel relatively more important for OTC and self-care than headline health spending suggests. Our guide to trade marketing in the pharmaceutical industry covers how to plan for that channel.
How much of health spending do GCC households pay out of pocket?
Out-of-pocket payments were 28.7% of current health spending in Bahrain in 2023, 14.1% in Saudi Arabia and between 6.3% and 10.0% in the other four countries.[4]
| Country | Out-of-pocket, % of current health spending (2023) |
|---|---|
| Bahrain | 28.7% |
| Saudi Arabia | 14.1% |
| Kuwait | 10.0% |
| United Arab Emirates | 9.7% |
| Qatar | 7.4% |
| Oman | 6.3% |
Source: WHO Global Health Expenditure Database via World Bank indicator SH.XPD.OOPC.CH.ZS, data year 2023. The WHO definition: spending on health paid directly by households.[4]
Out-of-pocket spending is the line in the national health accounts closest to what a consumer health brand sells into: the medicine bought without a prescription, the vitamin pack, the private clinic co-payment. It is not the OTC market, but a high share signals a population used to paying for health itself.
What it means for a brand team: a low out-of-pocket share does not mean a small consumer market. Oman has the lowest share and also the lowest spending per head, so self-pay is limited in absolute terms. The UAE has a modest share of a large per-capita figure, which is still a large pool of money passing through the consumer’s hands. Use the two columns together, and use our OTC launch budget estimator to turn a country’s numbers into a first-year plan.
How common is diabetes in the GCC?
Between 17.0% (Oman) and 25.6% (Kuwait) of adults aged 20 to 79 had diabetes in 2024, age-standardised, according to the IDF Diabetes Atlas 2025. Across the six countries that is about 8.5 million adults by our sum, and close to half of them do not know it.[5]
| Country | Adults 20-79 with diabetes (2024) | Age-standardised prevalence (2024) | Share undiagnosed (2024) | Projected prevalence (2050) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 5,344,600 | 23.1% | 43.6% | 25.4% |
| United Arab Emirates | 1,274,200 | 20.7% | 64.0% | 22.7% |
| Kuwait | 908,500 | 25.6% | 37.3% | 28.2% |
| Qatar | 409,300 | 24.6% | 46.4% | 27.0% |
| Bahrain | 197,600 | 22.1% | 46.4% | 25.3% |
| Oman | 412,300 | 17.0% | 50.0% | 18.7% |
Source: International Diabetes Federation, IDF Diabetes Atlas 2025 (11th edition), country pages, “At a glance” table, 2024 and 2050 columns. The Atlas gives people with diabetes in thousands; the table converts them to whole numbers. By our sum, 3,972,500 of the 8,546,500 adults with diabetes (46.5%) are undiagnosed.[5]
Diabetes is not an OTC indication, but it drives demand around it: meters and strips, foot and skin care, vitamins and a regular pharmacy visit. The undiagnosed share matters most for a pharmacy programme: in the UAE, where almost two thirds of cases are undiagnosed, a counter screening day reaches people no clinic list will find.
What it means for a brand team: any brand in diabetes-adjacent self-care can size its audience country by country from this table rather than from a regional average. Training the counter team to ask one extra question is often cheaper than any media spend; see our guide to pharmacy counter selling for how to brief it.
How common is obesity in the GCC?
In 2024, 39.8% to 51.7% of adult women and 26.2% to 39.3% of adult men in the GCC lived with obesity (BMI of 30 or more), age-standardised, according to NCD-RisC.[6]
| Country | Women with obesity (2024) | Men with obesity (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 48.5% (41.8 to 55.2) | 37.3% (29.6 to 45.7) |
| United Arab Emirates | 39.8% (34.1 to 45.6) | 28.2% (21.9 to 34.8) |
| Kuwait | 48.4% (42.0 to 54.5) | 37.2% (29.6 to 44.9) |
| Qatar | 51.7% (43.1 to 60.3) | 39.3% (29.8 to 48.9) |
| Bahrain | 43.0% (33.1 to 52.6) | 31.6% (22.3 to 41.9) |
| Oman | 40.8% (34.6 to 47.1) | 26.2% (20.1 to 32.6) |
Source: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), national adult body-mass index, age-standardised country estimates, latest year 2024, released with the 2026 Nature paper “Obesity rise plateaus in developed nations and accelerates in developing nations”. Ranges in brackets are the 95% uncertainty intervals given in the data file.[6]
Women have higher obesity rates than men in every GCC country. The uncertainty ranges are wide, so do not build a case on the difference between two countries whose ranges overlap.
What it means for a brand team: obesity widens the self-care basket well beyond weight management: joint and back pain, skin-fold and foot care, heartburn and digestive complaints all rise with body weight. Because the higher rates are among women, the shopper for many of these products is a woman buying for herself and her family, which should shape both the pack and the counter conversation.
How common is vitamin D deficiency in the GCC?
A meta-analysis of 16 studies with 20,787 Saudi adults found a pooled vitamin D deficiency of 63.5% (95% CI 53.3 to 73.7), for studies published 2008 to 2015.[7] There is no single GCC-wide survey using one method, so we show only studies we could check and say what each measured.
| Country | Study and population | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | Meta-analysis of 16 studies, 20,787 adults, 2008-2015 (Al-Alyani et al., 2018) | 63.5% deficient (pooled) |
| United Arab Emirates | 82,396 Emirati nationals at outpatient diabetes, endocrine and primary care services, 2012-2016 (Buckley et al., 2019) | 25(OH)D below 50 nmol/L in 67.1% of men and 73.5% of women |
The two figures are not comparable: one pools community studies with different cut-offs and laboratory methods, the other is a clinic population of nationals. The authors of the Saudi meta-analysis themselves conclude the true figure is “around 60%” rather than the near-universal rates some single studies reported.[7] We found no comparable, checkable figures for Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain or Oman and have left them out rather than guess.
What it means for a brand team: vitamin D is one of the few consumer health needs where both doctors and shoppers already accept the problem. The opportunity is less in creating awareness and more in format, dose and price, and in being the product the pharmacist reaches for. Remember that many vitamin D products are not registered as medicines at all, which affects what you may claim; our guide to SFDA marketing compliance explains the Saudi rules.
How many adults use tobacco in each GCC country?
Current tobacco use among people aged 15 and over ranged from 8.5% in Oman to 19.4% in Kuwait in 2024, according to WHO estimates.[9]
| Country | Current tobacco use, ages 15+ (2024) |
|---|---|
| Kuwait | 19.4% |
| Bahrain | 15.4% |
| Saudi Arabia | 14.7% |
| Qatar | 12.5% |
| United Arab Emirates | 9.0% |
| Oman | 8.5% |
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory, published through World Bank indicator SH.PRV.SMOK, 2024. The definition counts any tobacco product, smoked or smokeless, daily or non-daily, including waterpipe (shisha) and heated tobacco.[9]
What it means for a brand team: tobacco use feeds demand for smoking-cessation aids, throat and cough relief, and oral care. The definition includes shisha, which many users do not think of as smoking; a counter conversation that asks about shisha as well as cigarettes reaches more of the people who need cessation support.
How connected are GCC consumers online?
Internet use is close to universal: ITU data put it at 100% of the population in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait, 98.1% in Qatar and 95.3% in Oman.[10] Social media reach varies much more.
| Country | Internet users, % of population (ITU) | Social media user identities, Oct 2025 (DataReportal) | Identities as % of population (DataReportal) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 100% (2024) | 38.6 million | 111% |
| United Arab Emirates | 100% (2024) | 12.5 million | 110% |
| Kuwait | 100% (2025) | 4.44 million | 87.9% |
| Qatar | 98.1% (2024) | 2.95 million | 94.3% |
| Bahrain | 100% (2024) | 1.31 million | 79.4% |
| Oman | 95.3% (2024) | 3.44 million | 62.1% |
Sources: International Telecommunication Union, via World Bank indicator IT.NET.USER.ZS (individuals who used the internet in the last three months).[10] DataReportal (Kepios), Digital 2026 country reports, published 5 to 8 November 2025, using October 2025 data.[11]
Social media “user identities” are accounts, not people. DataReportal itself warns they may not represent unique individuals, which is why Saudi Arabia and the UAE show more than 100%. Read the column as relative reach between countries, not as a count of people you can target.[11]
What it means for a brand team: in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, almost every adult shopper is reachable on social platforms, so a consumer health launch there is a digital launch first. In Oman and Bahrain the gap between internet use and social media reach suggests a larger role for the pharmacy, search and messaging. Whatever the mix, health claims online follow the same rules as on the pack.
How big is the GCC OTC market?
No GCC government publishes an OTC market value. One openly published estimate, from the research firm IMARC Group, values the GCC over-the-counter drugs market at USD 3.7 billion in 2025 and the Saudi market at USD 1,738.7 million.[12][13]
| Scope | Estimate (2025) | Forecast | Publisher (estimate, not official data) |
|---|---|---|---|
| GCC OTC drugs (six countries) | USD 3.7 billion | USD 7.5 billion by 2034 (7.94% a year, 2026-2034) | IMARC Group |
| Saudi Arabia share of GCC OTC | About 47.5% | Not given | IMARC Group |
| Saudi Arabia OTC drugs | USD 1,738.7 million | USD 2,743.4 million by 2034 (5.20% a year, 2026-2034) | IMARC Group |
Read these with care. They are one firm’s model, not a measured total, and the firm does not publish its country figures for the other five markets on the open page. The two IMARC pages are at least consistent with each other (47.5% of USD 3.7 billion is close to the Saudi figure, by our calculation), but other research firms define the market differently, for example with or without vitamins and supplements, and arrive at different numbers. We have not combined or averaged estimates from different firms.
A useful official cross-check for Saudi Arabia is the drug register: on 23 October 2026, 697 of the 9,207 medicines with a valid SFDA registration (7.6%, our calculation) were classed OTC.[14] Much of what Saudi shoppers buy without a prescription (vitamins, supplements, skin and oral care) is registered under other SFDA rules and is not in that count. Our Saudi OTC medicines list breaks the OTC register down by therapy area, and Saudi drug registration statistics covers the whole register.
What it means for a brand team: use a market-size estimate to sanity-check ambition, not to set a target. A bottom-up plan built from population, out-of-pocket spending, condition prevalence and the pharmacy margin you must fund is more defensible in front of a regional board. The pharmacy trade margin calculator shows what a given shelf price leaves for the pharmacy and the distributor.
Who regulates OTC medicines in each GCC country?
Each GCC country has its own medicines regulator, and the Gulf Health Council runs a central registration route alongside them. The table names the authority only; the detailed rules on what may be sold without a prescription, where, and with what claims differ by country and are not summarised here.
| Country | Medicines regulator | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) | [15] |
| United Arab Emirates | Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE), a federal body approved in 2023 to regulate medical products, which took over this role from the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) | [16] |
| Kuwait | Ministry of Health, Kuwait Drug and Food Control Administration | [17] |
| Qatar | Ministry of Public Health, Pharmacy and Drug Control | [18] |
| Bahrain | National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA), Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Products Regulation | [19] |
| Oman | Ministry of Health, Drug Safety Center | [20] |
| All member states | Gulf Health Council, central drug registration and the Gulf committee for pricing of pharmaceuticals | [21] |
What it means for a brand team: a product classed OTC in one GCC country is not automatically OTC in the next. Check the legal status country by country before you plan a regional pack, a shared campaign or a single price list, and treat the regulator’s own register as the final word.
What do these numbers mean for a GCC consumer health plan?
Saudi Arabia is the first market by every volume measure, but the second market depends on what you sell. Five practical readings:
- Rank countries on three columns, not one. Population, spending per head and out-of-pocket share together give a better order of entry than population alone. By that test the UAE and Kuwait rank above their headcount.
- Plan for the resident mix. Large non-national, working-age populations shift demand toward pain, cold and convenience formats; young national families shift it toward children’s products.
- Build around the chronic-condition halo. With up to a quarter of adults living with diabetes and close to half of women with obesity in several countries, the self-care categories around those conditions are large and growing.
- Treat market-size estimates as one input. A single firm’s USD 3.7 billion is a useful order of magnitude, not a target to split between countries.
- Confirm legal status per country. Six regulators means six answers; build that check into the launch plan from the start.
For more data pages like this one, see the market data topic.
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of the GCC countries?
World Bank estimates for 2025 put Saudi Arabia at 36,973,555, the UAE at 11,513,149, Oman at 5,494,691, Kuwait at 4,865,298, Qatar at 2,972,215 and Bahrain at 1,600,366, about 63.4 million in total by our sum. Saudi Arabia's own statistics authority (GASTAT) estimated 35.3 million people in mid-2024, of whom 55.6% were Saudi citizens.
Which GCC country spends the most on health per person?
The UAE, at USD 2,402 of current health expenditure per person in 2023, followed by Saudi Arabia (USD 1,825), Qatar (USD 1,804), Kuwait (USD 1,679), Bahrain (USD 1,176) and Oman (USD 732). Source: WHO Global Health Expenditure Database via the World Bank, data year 2023.
How much of GCC health spending is paid out of pocket?
In 2023 out-of-pocket payments were 28.7% of current health spending in Bahrain, 14.1% in Saudi Arabia, 10.0% in Kuwait, 9.7% in the UAE, 7.4% in Qatar and 6.3% in Oman (WHO Global Health Expenditure Database via the World Bank). Out-of-pocket spending includes what households pay directly for medicines bought without a prescription.
How common is diabetes in the GCC?
The IDF Diabetes Atlas 2025 gives an age-standardised diabetes prevalence among adults aged 20 to 79, for 2024, of 25.6% in Kuwait, 24.6% in Qatar, 23.1% in Saudi Arabia, 22.1% in Bahrain, 20.7% in the UAE and 17.0% in Oman. Saudi Arabia alone has about 5.3 million adults with diabetes, of whom 43.6% are undiagnosed.
How big is the GCC OTC market?
There is no official figure. One openly published market-research estimate (IMARC Group) values the GCC over-the-counter drugs market at USD 3.7 billion in 2025, with Saudi Arabia holding about 47.5%, and the Saudi OTC drugs market at USD 1,738.7 million in 2025. These are a single firm's estimates, not official statistics, and other firms use different definitions.
Who regulates OTC medicines in each GCC country?
Saudi Arabia: the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA). UAE: the Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE), a federal body set up in 2023. Kuwait: the Kuwait Drug and Food Control Administration under the Ministry of Health. Qatar: the Ministry of Public Health, Pharmacy and Drug Control. Bahrain: the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA). Oman: the Ministry of Health (Drug Safety Center). The Gulf Health Council also runs a central registration route for the member states.
How many people in the GCC use social media?
DataReportal's Digital 2026 reports, using October 2025 data, count social media user identities equal to 111% of the population in Saudi Arabia, 110% in the UAE, 94.3% in Qatar, 87.9% in Kuwait, 79.4% in Bahrain and 62.1% in Oman. Identities are accounts, not unique people, which is why two countries exceed 100%.
Can I use these statistics in my own report?
Yes. Cite the original source shown next to each number, with its year, and you may credit this page as the compilation: PharmaGrowth, GCC consumer health statistics, figures checked 30 October 2026.
How should I cite these statistics?
Cite the original source shown next to each number, with its year. To credit this compilation:
PharmaGrowth, GCC consumer health statistics, figures checked 30 October 2026. https://pharmagrowth.co/blog/gcc-consumer-health-statistics
You are welcome to reuse the tables with that credit and a link. Quote the data year with every number; the sources update at different times.
Sources
Figures checked 30 October 2026.
- World Bank, World Development Indicators, Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL), 2025 values, last updated 8 October 2026. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=SA-AE-KW-QA-BH-OM
- General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), Population Estimates Publication 2024 (mid-2024 estimates), published 2025. stats.gov.sa, Population Estimates Statistics 2024 (PDF)
- World Health Organization, Global Health Expenditure Database (updated 12 December 2025), via World Bank indicators Current health expenditure per capita, current USD (SH.XPD.CHEX.PC.CD) and Current health expenditure, % of GDP (SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS), data year 2023. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.PC.CD?locations=SA-AE-KW-QA-BH-OM and https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS?locations=SA-AE-KW-QA-BH-OM
- World Health Organization, Global Health Expenditure Database (updated 12 December 2025), via World Bank indicators Out-of-pocket expenditure, % of current health expenditure (SH.XPD.OOPC.CH.ZS) and Domestic general government health expenditure, % of current health expenditure (SH.XPD.GHED.CH.ZS), data year 2023. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.OOPC.CH.ZS?locations=SA-AE-KW-QA-BH-OM and https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.GHED.CH.ZS?locations=SA-AE-KW-QA-BH-OM
- International Diabetes Federation, IDF Diabetes Atlas 2025 (11th edition), country pages for Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, “At a glance” table, 2024 and 2050 columns. https://diabetesatlas.org/data-by-location/country/saudi-arabia/ (same address pattern for the other five)
- NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), National adult body-mass index, age-standardised country data, latest year 2024; data source: “Obesity rise plateaus in developed nations and accelerates in developing nations”, Nature, 2026. https://www.ncdrisc.org/data-downloads-adiposity.html
- Al-Alyani H, Al-Turki HA, Al-Essa ON, Alani FM, Sadat-Ali M. Vitamin D deficiency in Saudi Arabians: a reality or simply hype. A meta-analysis (2008-2015). Journal of Family and Community Medicine, 2018;25(1):1-4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29386955/
- Buckley AJ, Barakat MT, Holick MF, Lessan N. Parameters of bone and cardiovascular health related to 25-hydroxyvitamin D status in Emirati nationals attending primary care and diabetes services: a retrospective cohort study. Scientific Reports, 2019;9:3835. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-40523-8
- World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory, via World Bank indicator Prevalence of current tobacco use, % of adults (SH.PRV.SMOK), 2024. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.PRV.SMOK?locations=SA-AE-KW-QA-BH-OM
- International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, via World Bank indicator Individuals using the Internet, % of population (IT.NET.USER.ZS), 2024 (Kuwait 2025). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?locations=SA-AE-KW-QA-BH-OM
- DataReportal (Kepios), Digital 2026 reports for Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, published 5 to 8 November 2025, October 2025 data. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-saudi-arabia (same address pattern for the other five)
- IMARC Group, Saudi Arabia Over the Counter (OTC) Drugs Market, report page, 2025 estimate and 2026-2034 forecast (market-research estimate). https://www.imarcgroup.com/saudi-arabia-over-the-counter-drugs-market
- IMARC Group, GCC Over the Counter (OTC) Drugs Market, report page, 2025 estimate and 2026-2034 forecast (market-research estimate). https://www.imarcgroup.com/gcc-over-the-counter-drugs-market
- PharmaGrowth analysis of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority drug register, data as of 23 October 2026. pharmagrowth.co/blog/saudi-drug-registration-statistics
- Saudi Food and Drug Authority, official website, read 30 October 2026. https://www.sfda.gov.sa/en
- LexisNexis Middle East, “UAE: Emirates Drug Corporation Established”, 11 October 2023, reporting the UAE Cabinet’s approval of the federal law; and Emirates Drug Establishment official portal, read 30 October 2026. https://www.lexis.ae/2023/10/11/uae-emirates-drug-corporation-established/ and https://www.ede.gov.ae/
- Alostad AH, Steinke DT, Schafheutle EI. International comparison of five herbal medicine registration systems to inform regulation development. Pharmaceutical Medicine, 2018;32(1):39-49 (data credited to the Kuwait Drug and Food Control Administration). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40290-018-0223-0
- Ministry of Public Health, State of Qatar, official website (Pharmacy and Drug Control services), read 30 October 2026. https://www.moph.gov.qa/english/Pages/default.aspx
- National Health Regulatory Authority, Kingdom of Bahrain, official website (Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Products Regulation Section), read 30 October 2026. https://www.nhra.bh/
- Ministry of Health, Sultanate of Oman, official website (Directorates and Centers: Drug Safety Center), read 30 October 2026. https://moh.gov.om/en/
- Gulf Health Council, Central registry (central drug registration and Gulf committee for pricing of pharmaceuticals), read 30 October 2026. https://www.ghc.sa/en/central-registration
