Weight Loss Drug Hotspots

Weight loss drugs have become a global phenomenon in the last few years, as people around the world look to fast-working medications like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, etc.) for quick results. Their popularity hasn’t come without controversy, however, as the health industry continue to weigh up the pros and cons of these solutions. 

A prescription to weight loss medication shouldn’t be seen as a substitute for a healthy lifestyle, so it’s important not to rely too heavily on its effects – but which countries are the most reliant on these drugs? By investigating sales data, prescriptions, and search volume across various areas around the world, the team at iSelect have created an index of the countries that serve as the biggest hotspots for weight loss drugs. Read on to see what we learned. 

Which countries are the biggest hotspots for weight loss drugs?

To piece together our index, we looked at factors such as the cost of a month’s supply of Ozempic, sales of GLP-1 agonist drugs in the country, Google searches for “weight loss drugs”, and obesity rates. We then scored each country on an index from 0 to 100. These are the countries with the highest scores in our data. 

1. United Kingdom

Scoring 82.99 in our hotspot index, the UK ranks as the #1 weight loss drug hotspot worldwide. With an obesity rate of 25.95% – the second-highest of any country we researched – more people than ever across Britain are looking for fast solutions. A month’s supply of Ozempic costs US$93 (£68.98), with total GLP-1 agonist sales across the country reaching more than $556,300,000 (£412,385,190) in 2023. This makes it the second-highest country in Europe for GLP-1 sales. 

The UK’s biggest claim to the top spot on our list, however, is the increased interest in treatment over the last few years. From 2022 to 2024, searches for “weight loss drugs” shot up by 282.80% – the sharpest increase of any country on our list. 

2. Australia

Off the back of a 71.08% search volume increase for weight loss drugs from since 2022, Australia has seen major growth in the number of people taking medication to deal with obesity. The country has a 25.45% obesity rate, with GLP-1 agonist sales reaching $1,455,025 (AU$2,215,712.07) per 100,000 Australians in 2023, making the industry for weight loss medication extremely profitable. With a typical month’s supply of Ozempic costing $87 (AU$132.48), a prescription is much cheaper in Australia than the worldwide average. Its hotspot index score of 77.98 sees it land at #2 on our list. 

3. Croatia

Croatia has the cheapest Ozempic prices on our rankings, with a month’s supply costing just $51 (€43.63). This has caused a high demand for the drugs despite the country’s small population, resulting in GLP-1 agonist sales of $1,518,369 (€1,298,811.99) per 100,000 people in 2023. Surprisingly, however, Croatia has seen a decrease in search interest for weight loss drugs, with queries for the topic dropping by 7.32% between 2022 and 2024. It scores 71.99 on our hotspot metric overall. 

4. United States

While the USA has the highest obesity rate in our rankings (33.50%) and the second biggest increase in search volume over two years (276.64%), its high Ozempic prices knock it down to #4 in our index. One month of an Ozempic prescription in the USA can cost as much as $936 – that’s a massive AU$1,425 per month. 

Although this high price has made it difficult for many Americans to afford weight loss drugs, it has proven to be lucrative for the country’s medical industry, with GLP-1 agonist sales totalling more than $26.6 billion USD. These factors total up for a score of 63.33 on our hotspot metric. 

5. Sweden

When it comes to GLP-1 agonist sales, Sweden has the third-lowest total after Croatia and Greece in our top 10 – with a month’s supply of Ozempic costing $96 (€82.11), the country saw $186,500,000 (€159,513,450) in total GLP-1 agonist sales in 2023. Sweden’s obesity rate is 16.10%, ranking relatively low compared to other European countries on our list, but its affordable prices and high sales per 100,000 people combine to earn it the #5 spot in total, scoring 59.02 in our index. 

6. Canada

Although its prescriptions are more affordable than the USA, Canada has the third-highest total sales of GLP-1 agonist drugs. A month of Ozempic costs $147 (200.96 CAD), with sales in 2023 adding up to $1,183,600,000 (CA$1,618,099,560) overall. Combined with a 180.31% increase in search volume, it ranks at #6 on our list with an index rating of 57.65. 

7. France

With $761,480 (€651,759) of sales per 100,000 people in 2023, and an obesity rate of 14.35%, France finishes as the seventh biggest hotspot for weight loss drugs. Overall, it earns a score of 55.02 on our rankings, due to total weight loss drug sales of $515,900,000 (€441,558,810) in 2023. 

8. Greece

A month’s supply of Ozempic can set you back $130 (€111.27) in Greece, with total sales in 2023 totalling $1,518,369 (€1,299,572) per 100,000 people. However, its huge search volume increase of 225.83% from 2022 to 2024 is the main reason it takes a #8 finish on our list, scoring 54.29 overall on our rankings. 

9. Denmark

Despite seeing a drop in search volume of 61.38% from 2022 to 2024, weight loss drugs still prove to be a popular choice in Denmark. With an obesity rate of 18.45%, and $283,000,000 (€242,219,700) in total GLP-1 agonist sales in 2023, it earns 47.31 on our weight loss drug hotspot index. 

10. Germany

Rounding out our top 10 is Germany, with a rating of 46.66 on our index. Although the country has an obesity rating of 16.7%, searches for weight loss drugs have dropped by 24.22% in the last few years. Despite that, it still has some of the highest total weight loss drug sales in Europe, with $737,000,000 (€630,798,300) worth of GLP-1 agonist medication being sold in 2023. 

What is the lowest-ranking country for weight loss drug use?

Scoring just 24.68 on our weight loss hotspot index, Austria ranks as the least reliant country on medication for cutting down on weight. From 2022 to 2024, it saw a massive 75.14% decrease in searches for weight loss drugs, and with a month’s prescription of Ozempic costing $169 (€144.65), it has the second-highest prices in all of Europe. 

Which country has the fewest weight loss drug sales per 100k people?

Italy is the country on our list that spends the least on weight loss drugs by population. A month of Ozempic in Italy costs $138 (€118), but in 2023, the country saw just $748,086 (€640,287) in GLP-1 agonist sales per 100,000 residents.