Homeopathy in Europe: used, appreciated and well-known

As World Homeopathy Awareness Week 2023 gets underway, recent market data from Germany, France, Spain and Italy confirm that homeopathy continues to be well known, used and appreciated by a majority of Europeans.

The week starts with World Homeopathy Awareness Day on 10 April, to mark the birthday of Samual Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, and continues till 16 April. Its aim is to increase public awareness of the benefits of homeopathy.

In Europe, awareness of homeopathy remains high and the use of homeopathic medicines is widespread – 79% of French, 60% of Germans, 57% of Italians and 47% of Spanish have used homeopathic medicines in their lifetime.

Satisfaction with this treatment is also high – 90% of German users find homeopathic medicines completely or partly effective, 84% of Spanish users and 81% of Italians declare themselves to be satisfied with the treatment and in France, 73% of those who know about it have confidence in this therapeutic approach.

The majority of the population in these four countries perceive homeopathy as complementary to conventional medicine and believe it should be prescribed or made available alongside it – in Germany two thirds of the population (three quarters of women) believe that homeopathic medicinal products should continue to be sold alongside conventional medicinal products. 84% of Italians and 80% of Spanish believe that homeopathy should to be recommended by health professionals, while in France 83% think that doctors should be able to prescribe homeopathy alongside conventional medicines.

This interest in and support for homeopathy in Europe reflects the trend for patients to become increasingly interested in their own health. Health literacy has accelerated greatly since the Covid pandemic and patients are taking an active role in their own care, exploring health in all its forms. They want to participate in the decision-making process and make informed decisions.  

We know from years of experience and previous studies that those who use these medicinal products do so consciously and by choice. They tend to have higher levels of education. They are eager to find partners in their healthcare practitioners to enable them to access the best information and manage their health in a holistic way. They would like these products to be prescribed more frequently alongside conventional medicine.

During World Homeopathy Awareness Week, ECHAMP confirms its commitment to ensure sufficient availability of these medicines for those who use them, so that European patients can continue to access pluralism in health care.