Homeopathy Use Worldwide

Some Homeopathic Facts and Statistics Worldwide:

• Popular in South America, with higher popularity in Brazil and Argentina.
• Brazilian government recognises homeopathy formally, and there are more than a dozen training programs for physicians.
• 15,000 doctors specialised in homeopathy in Brazil, making it 16th among the 61 medical specialties.

• USA, after being popular in the beginning of the 20th century its used declined for a period.  However Homeopathy has returned, with specific schools in several states. In the 80’s there was about 1000 homeopathic doctors, and another 3000 professionals using homeopathy, including dentists and vets.
• México, homeopathy is even more popular than in the USA or Canada. There are 2 homeopathic medical schools in the City of Mexico and several post-graduation courses throughout the country. There is a great number of pharmacies selling homeopathic medicines in Mexico, along with conventional medicines.
• The field of “alternative and complimentary medicine” is quickly growing in Europe. According to a market research, complimentary medicine was the 2nd in growth, being only behind the computer industry, in the 80’s.
• In 1998, homeopathy was the most used CAM, it was used in 5 of the 14 countries researched in Europe, and it was among the 3 most used in 11 of these 14 countries. Three in every 4 European citizens knows about homeopathy, and an impressive 29% use it as healthcare.
• Spain, homeopathy is recognised as a medical specialty, being taught in universities in Seville, Valladolid, Murcia, Barcelona, Bilbao and Malaga. The sales of homeopathic medicines grow 10-15% per year in this country.
• France, homeopathy is the first most used CAM treatment, and the number of physicians that are receptive to it, considering it effective, comes to 70%, at least 25.000 physicians prescribe homeopathic medicines to their patients. Homeopathy is taught in at least 7 medical schools: Besancon, Bordeaux, Lille, Limoges, Marseille, Paris-Nord, and Poitiers, and there are several post-graduation programs. Homeopathy courses are present in 21 from the 24 French schools of Pharmacy, and also in Dentistry, Veterinary and Obstetrics. Homeopathic medicines are refunded by the public health system, and almost every French drugstore commercializes them.
• UK, homeopathy is recognised as a medical practice, it is the most popular post-graduation course among all in Great Britain, and there are 5 homeopathic hospitals working with the National Health System. The respect towards homeopathy and its practice is even more evident after research that showed that more than 50% of physicians prescribe or indicate homeopathic treatments to their patients.
• In 2006, Canova do Brasil was invited to present the results of 6 scientific works made with the homeopathic medicine Canova in the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital.
• In Scotland, 49% of all physicians prescribe homeopathic medicines.
• In Ireland, a research found out that 57% of parents use CAM treatments for their children, being homeopathy the most popular. The use of homeopathy is not only popular for human beings, but also to treat animals. Although there are a small quantity of data currently on this subject, an investigation found out that 20% of Irish Milk producers has already used, or still use homeopathy to treat cattle.
• Germany, the population is so supportive of complimentary medicine that the German government mandated that all medical school curricula include information about complemen­tary medicines. Approximately 10% of German doctors specialise in homeopathy, and 75% of Germans have used complementary or natural medicine. Surveys indicate that 98% of pharmacies sell homeopathic medicines.
• Switzerland, The Federal Office for Public Health issued a report to the government of Switzerland which concluded that “the effectiveness of homeopathy can be supported by clinical evidence, and professional and adequate application be regarded as safe”.
• Italy, almost 90% of Italians who have used such medicines say these treatments helped them.
• Holland, 47% of physicians use one or more complimentary therapies, and Homeopathy is considered the most effective.
• Belgium Homeopathy is recognised, and about 25% of the population makes use of homeopathic medicines. When the Iron Curtain was up, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany banned homeopathy, but this medical iron curtain fell with communism.
• Hungary, homeopathic literature was banned for 40 years until 1990.  Homeopathy has now been accepted and integrated into regular medical education and is taught in two medical schools.  The Hungarian Homeopathic Medical Association started with 11 members in 1990, grew to 75 after 18 months, and grew further to 302 members in 1994.
• After the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia, a homeopathic organisation in Cze­chia was established in November, 1990, and it was immediately accepted and integrated within the larger conventional medical society.  Within a year, the Ministry of Health officially recognised homeopathy as a medical specialty.
• Homeopathy holds a unique place in Russia, where it has been widely accepted. Demand for homeopathic care is so great that Russians prefer to pay for homeopathic care than to receive free conventional medical care. Homeopathic medicine was the 8th most popular, with 58% of physicians using or referring for homeopathic treatment, 31% using on themselves, 29% using it on their own patients, and 38% referring for homeopathic care.
• In India, where there are 300,000 qualified homeopaths, 180 colleges, 7,500 government clinics, 307 hospitals and 24 State Boards for the registration of qualified practitioners of homeopathy.  According to the Lancet, about 10% of the population of India, approximately 100 million people, depend SOLELY on homeopathy for their health care.
• In Israel, the Jerusaleum Post stated that training programs for complementary thera­pies are “sprouting like mushrooms after rain”. Homeopathy is being practiced in small medical clinics throughout Israel as well as in large hospitals such as Hadassah in Jerusalem.