Antimicrobial consumption in the EU/EEA (ESAC-Net) - Annual Epidemiological Report for 2020

Key facts

• For 2020, twenty-nine countries (27 European Union (EU) Member States and two European Economic Area (EEA) countries - Iceland and Norway) reported data on antimicrobial consumption. Twenty-five countries reported data for both community and hospital consumption; two countries (Germany and Iceland) reported only community consumption, and two countries (Cyprus and Czechia) reported total consumption for both sectors combined.
• The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification index with defined daily doses (DDD) 2021 was used for the analysis of both 2020 data and historical data. Antimicrobial consumption is expressed as DDD per 1 000 inhabitants per day.
• In 2020, the mean total (community and hospital sector combined) consumption of antibacterials for systemic use (ATC group J01) in the EU/EEA was 16.4 DDD per 1 000 inhabitants per day (country range: 8.5–28.9). During the period 2011–2020, a statistically significant decrease was observed for the EU/EEA overall, as well as for eight individual countries. A statistically significant increasing trend was observed for two countries.
• The EU/EEA mean total (community and hospital sector combined) consumption of antivirals for systemic use (ATC group J05) was 2.56 DDD per 1 000 inhabitants per day (country range: 0.59–11.19), with no statistically significant trends in the five-year period between 2016–2020.