Malaysia Community Pharmacy Analysis 2026
Licence register snapshot: 27 September 2026
Population estimates: 2026 · Household income: 2024 · Historical MOH series: 2021–2025
In Sabah, there are 15,251 people for every included community-pharmacy premise. In Kuala Lumpur, the figure is 5,538. Sabah’s ratio is about 2.8 times as high.
Malaysia’s 4,134 included community-pharmacy premises form a very different landscape from one state to another. Start with your state, then follow the evidence from national counts to district differences and pharmacy-group footprints.
These ratios describe recorded premises relative to population. They do not establish travel distance, staffing capacity, service quality or whether local needs are met.
Where does your state sit?
The study includes 4,134 community-pharmacy premises. Choose a state to explore its recorded footprint.
Peninsular Malaysia
Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan
Select a state on the map or use the state selector. Small federal territories also have buttons. Boundaries: geoBoundaries / OpenStreetMap contributors, 2017, simplified under ODbL 1.0. Map geometry and the report’s September 2026 counts have different reference dates.
Sabah: 15,251 people per premise
National ratio: 8,319 people per premise. Higher values mean fewer recorded premises or licences relative to population.
- Included premises
- 247
- Active licence records
- 260
- Leading classified group by premises
- PMG Healthcare Group · 15.0% within this state
Compare all states
A premise may have more than one active licence record. These ratios describe relative availability; they do not measure travel distance, staffing, affordability or whether local needs are met.
Where are the licence records concentrated?
Selangor has 1,209 active licence records, representing 25.5% of the study total of 4,748 and more than twice Johor’s 543. Together, Selangor, Johor and W.P. Kuala Lumpur account for 2,243 records, or 47.2% of the total.
Active Type A licence records by state
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Sabah: 260 active licence records
5.5% of 4,748 active licence records in this comparison.
Figure 1 shows active Type A licence records associated with the included community-pharmacy premises. A single premise may have more than one active licence record.
What changes when we account for population?
Sabah has the highest population per active Type A licence record at 14,488, approximately 3.4 times W.P. Kuala Lumpur’s 4,241. Pahang (11,021), Terengganu (10,686), W.P. Labuan (10,110) and Kelantan (10,080) also exceed 10,000 residents per record.
W.P. Kuala Lumpur, Pulau Pinang (5,037) and W.P. Putrajaya (5,518) have the lowest ratios. Sarawak (6,225) and Selangor (6,166) are also below the national ratio of 7,243 residents per active licence record.
Population per active Type A licence record
Select a state to explore its exact value. Colours compare states on the same measure.
Sabah: 14,488 people per licence record
Peninsular Malaysia
Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan
Select a state on the map or use the state selector. Small federal territories also have buttons. Boundaries: geoBoundaries / OpenStreetMap contributors, 2017, simplified under ODbL 1.0. Map geometry and the report’s September 2026 counts have different reference dates.
Figure 2 shows each state's 2026 population divided by the number of active Type A licence records associated with included community-pharmacy premises. Higher values indicate fewer recorded licences relative to population.
Does a licence record mean a separate pharmacy?
Selangor has 998 premises, representing 24.1% of the national total of 4,134, and more than twice Johor’s 480. W.P. Kuala Lumpur (376) and Sarawak (375) have almost identical premise counts despite their different population sizes and geographical areas.
Sabah has 247 premises for approximately 3.8 million residents. These absolute counts describe the distribution of premises but do not account for population size or accessibility within each state.
Figure 5 compares population per premise.
Community-pharmacy premises by state
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Sabah: 247 premises
6.0% of 4,134 premises in this comparison.
Figure 3 shows the number of included community-pharmacy premises in each state or federal territory. Each premise is counted once, regardless of the number of active Type A licence records associated with it.
Has pharmacy growth started to slow?
The number of community pharmacies rose from 3,513 in 2021 to a peak of 4,320 in 2024, but growth slowed each year, from 12.3% in 2022 to 7.6% in 2023 and 1.7% in 2024. In 2025, the count declined by 2.6% to 4,208—the first decline within the 2021–2025 series.
This analysis finds 4,134 premises in September 2026, 1.8% below the 2025 figure. The separately constructed September 2026 count is numerically lower, but differences in inclusion criteria and reference dates prevent it from establishing a further national decline.
Community-pharmacy premises from 2021 to 2026
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2021–2025: MOH statistics. Our 2026 study snapshot is not directly comparable because inclusion criteria and reference dates differ. Selecting 2026 does not establish a further national decline.
Figure 4 shows the number of private community pharmacy premises from 2021 to 2025, as published in the Pharmaceutical Services Programme’s Laporan Statistik 2025, alongside the 2026 count from this analysis.
How different is the picture in Sabah?
Sabah has the highest ratio at 15,251 people per premise, approximately 83% above the national ratio of 8,319. Pahang (12,044), Terengganu (11,258), W.P. Labuan (11,233) and Kelantan (10,464) also exceed 10,000 people per premise.
W.P. Kuala Lumpur (5,538), Pulau Pinang (5,759) and W.P. Putrajaya (6,744) have the lowest ratios. Sarawak’s ratio of 6,773 is below the national ratio and substantially lower than Sabah’s.
These comparisons describe relative premise availability only.
People per community-pharmacy premise
Select a state to explore its exact value. Colours compare states on the same measure.
Sabah: 15,251 people per premise
Peninsular Malaysia
Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan
Select a state on the map or use the state selector. Small federal territories also have buttons. Boundaries: geoBoundaries / OpenStreetMap contributors, 2017, simplified under ODbL 1.0. Map geometry and the report’s September 2026 counts have different reference dates.
Figure 5 divides each state’s 2026 population by its number of included community-pharmacy premises. Higher ratios indicate fewer premises relative to population. The national ratio is calculated by dividing Malaysia’s total population by the total number of included premises.
Put two states side by side
Your selected state
Sabah
| Measure | Sabah | W.P. Kuala Lumpur |
|---|---|---|
| Included premises | 247 | 376 |
| Active licence records | 260 | 491 |
| People per premise | 15,251 | 5,538 |
| People per licence record | 14,488 | 4,241 |
Sabah has 2.8 times the population per included premise of W.P. Kuala Lumpur, using the report’s rounded ratios.
This compares recorded premises against population. It does not establish which state provides better care or how far residents travel to a pharmacy.
What does a state average leave out?
Sabah accounts for nine of the 20 districts, followed by Sarawak and Pahang with three each, Kedah with two, and Terengganu, Perak and Negeri Sembilan with one each. Together, Sabah and Sarawak account for 12 of the 20 districts (60%).
Sarawak’s presence despite its below-national state-level ratio illustrates how state averages can conceal district-level differences. These results identify areas with relatively few matched premises for their population.
This ranking includes only areas with at least one matched premise. The 24 areas without matches are excluded; a missing match does not establish that no pharmacy operates there.
State representation among the 20 highest district ratios
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Sabah: 9 districts
45.0% of 20 districts in this comparison.
Only districts with at least one matched included premise are eligible. The 24 areas with no matched premises are excluded; no match does not necessarily mean no pharmacy operates there.
Figure 6 identifies the 20 districts with the highest population per included community-pharmacy premise and counts how many are in each state. Only areas with at least one matched included premise are eligible for ranking.
The 24 areas with no matched premises are excluded because their people-per-premise ratios cannot be calculated with a zero denominator. No matched premises does not necessarily mean that no community pharmacy operates in an area.
Does household income explain the pattern?
Six states have household incomes below the national median and people-per-premise ratios above the national ratio: Sabah, Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis and Kedah. W.P. Kuala Lumpur, W.P. Putrajaya, Selangor and Pulau Pinang have higher household incomes and lower people-per-premise ratios.
Sarawak, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Perak have lower household incomes but also lower ratios; Perak is close to the national ratio. Johor and W.P. Labuan have higher household incomes but higher people-per-premise ratios.
Johor, with approximately 4.2 million residents and 8,801 people per premise, has the larger population of these two areas. The pattern suggests that income alone does not explain differences in premise availability.
It does not establish that income causes pharmacy distribution or measure affordability and access for individual households.
Figure 7 compares each state or federal territory’s median monthly household income in 2024 with its population per included community-pharmacy premise in 2026. Bubble size represents 2026 population. This comparison uses different reference years and describes an area-level association, not a causal relationship.
The vertical dashed line is Malaysia's latest reported national median household income. The horizontal line is the national people-per-premise figure: total population divided by total included premises. Both are national values, not medians of the state values.
Where do larger populations meet relatively few premises?
Twenty-seven areas (19.1% of the 141 eligible areas) have both a population of at least 127,200 and at least 11,433.33 people per premise. These areas combine relatively large populations with relatively few matched premises for their population and are selected for closer examination in Figure 8B.
Larut dan Matang and Selama are treated as one combined analytical area in this analysis. The thresholds are descriptive comparisons, not standards of adequate pharmacy provision.
Areas outside the highlighted group should not automatically be considered adequately served.
The screening uses the same 141 eligible areas for both medians. The 24 areas without matched premises are excluded. These thresholds are descriptive comparisons, not standards of adequate provision.
Figure 8A compares population with people per community-pharmacy premise across 141 analytical areas with at least one matched included premise. Both medians are calculated from this same sample: 127,200 residents and 11,433.33 people per premise. The remaining 24 areas without matched premises are excluded from both median calculations and the plot.
Which areas warrant a closer look?
Sabah contributes seven selected areas, followed by Terengganu with five and Johor with four. Together, these states account for 16 of the 27 areas (59.3%).
Kelantan, Melaka and Selangor contributed two each, while Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak and Sarawak contributed one each. The selected areas span 11 states, showing that this combination of relatively large populations and high people-per-premise values is not confined to East Malaysia.
These counts describe each state’s representation in the selected group, not the proportion of its districts selected.
Figure 8B focuses on the 27 analytical areas identified in Figure 8A, with populations of at least 127,200 and at least 11,433.33 people per pharmacy premise. Colors identify states, while the legend shows the number of selected areas in each state, ordered from largest to smallest.
How large are the storefront brands?
In 2026, seven identified storefront brands have more than 100 premises each, together accounting for 1,442 premises, or 34.9% of all included premises. The other 47 brands have between 6 and 100 premises.
The 1–5-premise category contains 1,441 identified brands covering 1,789 premises. This indicates that numerous small storefront brands coexist with a small number of large brands.
However, storefront-brand size does not establish ownership independence: several brands may belong to the same group. Figure 10 therefore examines the distribution of premises by brand group.
Storefront pharmacy brands by premise-count band
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Storefront brands are distinct from ownership groups. Historical comparability has not been fully established. In 2026, 46 unidentified-brand premises are excluded from this classification but remain in the national total.
Figure 9 groups storefront pharmacy brands by their number of premises. It counts storefront brands rather than ownership groups: brands with different storefront names remain separate even when they share an owner.
Forty-six premises with unidentified storefront brands are excluded from this classification but remain included in the national total of 4,134 premises. Historical counts from the AIPharm 2022 report are shown for context.
Comparability with the current analysis has not been fully established, so differences should be interpreted cautiously.
Which pharmacy groups have the largest footprints?
BIG CARiNG Group has the largest recorded footprint, with 636 premises (15.4%), more than twice Alpro Group’s 277 (6.7%). Health Lane Family Pharmacy has 259 premises and PMG Healthcare Group has 191.
Together, these four groups account for 1,363 premises (33.0%). The ten largest classified groups account for 1,877 premises (45.4%), leaving 2,257 premises (54.6%) outside those ten groups.
This remainder includes other classified groups and premises with unresolved group classifications; it should not be interpreted as entirely independent pharmacies. These percentages describe the distribution of premises, not shares of sales, patients or dispensing activity.
Largest classified pharmacy brand groups
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Percentages use all 4,134 included premises, including unresolved group classifications. Premise shares are not shares of sales, patients or dispensing activity.
Figure 10 ranks the 15 largest classified brand groups by their number of included community-pharmacy premises. Unlike Figure 9, storefront brands assigned to the same group are combined. Percentages use all 4,134 included premises as the denominator, including premises with unresolved group classifications.
Does the same group lead everywhere?
BIG CARiNG Group leads in eight states and federal territories: Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Perak, Selangor, W.P. Kuala Lumpur, Pahang, Melaka and Johor. PMG Healthcare Group leads in Sabah, Sarawak and W.P. Labuan.
Farmasi Lautan leads in Kelantan and Terengganu, Mega Kulim Pharmacy in Kedah, Alpro Group in Negeri Sembilan, and VCare Pharmacy in W.P. Putrajaya. The highest leading-group share is 23.2%, held by Farmasi Lautan in Terengganu; Kedah’s leading group accounts for 8.2%.
Under the current classification, no identified group accounts for one-quarter of included premises in any state or federal territory. These results describe premise-count leadership, not dominance in sales, dispensing activity or patient access.
Leading pharmacy brand group in each state
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Sabah: 15 % of included state premises
PMG Healthcare Group
Each bar shows the leading group’s share within that state. Groups differ between states. These percentages describe premises, not sales or patient access.
Figure 11 colors each state by the brand group with the most premises there. The percentage is that group's share of premises in the state.
Where do the groups concentrate?
BIG CARiNG Group has recorded premises in all states and federal territories, while Alpro Group and Watsons are represented in all except W.P. Labuan. Health Lane Family Pharmacy, Sunway Multicare and AA Pharmacy have substantial proportions of their premises in Selangor and W.P. Kuala Lumpur: 160 of 259, 75 of 129 and 79 of 88, respectively.
PMG Healthcare Group’s largest recorded counts are in Sarawak (57), Johor (44) and Sabah (37). Mega Kulim Pharmacy is concentrated mainly in Kedah and Pulau Pinang, while Farmasi Lautan’s recorded premises are confined to Kelantan and Terengganu.
Selangor accommodates sizeable networks from several groups, including BIG CARiNG (182), Health Lane (105), Sunway Multicare (67) and AA Pharmacy (54). Among the ten groups displayed, only PMG (37), BIG CARiNG (27) and Alpro (26) have more than five recorded premises in Sabah.
Other groups operating in Sabah are outside this chart’s scope
BIG CARiNG Group in Sabah: 27 premises
636 included premises nationally. Select any cell to explore both its state and group.
Darker cells represent more recorded premises. Scroll horizontally to see all states; use Tab and Enter to select a cell.
| Pharmacy group | Johor | Kedah | Kelantan | Melaka | Negeri Sembilan | Pahang | Perak | Perlis | Pulau Pinang | Sabah | Sarawak | Selangor | Terengganu | Kuala Lumpur | Labuan | Putrajaya |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIG CARiNG Group | ||||||||||||||||
| Alpro Group | ||||||||||||||||
| Health Lane Family Pharmacy | ||||||||||||||||
| PMG Healthcare Group | ||||||||||||||||
| Sunway Multicare Pharmacy | ||||||||||||||||
| Watsons | ||||||||||||||||
| AA Pharmacy | ||||||||||||||||
| Guardian | ||||||||||||||||
| Mega Kulim Pharmacy | ||||||||||||||||
| Farmasi Lautan |
These ten groups account for 1,877 premises, or 45.4% of the 4,134 included nationally. The remaining 54.6% includes other groups and unresolved classifications. Zero means no recorded premises in this dataset; it does not mean a group has no operations there.
Figure 12 shows the number of included premises in each state and federal territory for the ten largest classified brand groups nationally. It compares their geographic distribution, rather than their shares of each state’s premises.
What the figures show together
Community-pharmacy premise availability varies substantially across Malaysia. Sabah has the highest population per included premise and per active Type A licence record.
It also contributes the largest number of areas to the district screening group. These findings indicate relatively fewer recorded premises and licence records for its population, but do not by themselves establish service inadequacy.
The income comparison shows an area-level pattern with exceptions; it does not demonstrate that income causes pharmacy distribution.
State averages can conceal district-level differences. Sarawak’s people-per-premise value is below the national figure, yet some of its districts have high values.
Johor’s state-level value is above the national figure, and four of its areas enter the revised focus group. Using the same 141 eligible areas for both medians identifies 27 areas with populations of at least 127,200 and at least 11,433.33 people per premise.
These areas warrant closer assessment alongside the 24 areas without matched premises, which are excluded from this screening.
Brand-group analysis reveals both nationally distributed networks and regional patterns. Under the current classification, the ten largest groups account for 45.4% of the premises included.
The remaining 54.6% includes other classified groups and unresolved classifications and cannot be interpreted as entirely independent pharmacies. Historical comparisons provide context, but differences in reference dates, coverage and classification prevent firm conclusions about growth or consolidation.
Limitations
This analysis counts included community-pharmacy premises and active Type A licence records, not verified pharmacist headcounts or staffing capacity. Population per premise describes relative availability, not travel distance, service quality or whether local needs are met.
Geographic matching remains incomplete: 24 analytical areas have no matched premises, while 24 premises in Selangor have unresolved district assignments. No matched premises does not necessarily mean no pharmacy exists. Income data refer to 2024, while population and premise data refer to 2026; associations should not be interpreted as causal.
Brand-group results depend on the classification used. Forty-six premises with unidentified storefront brands are excluded from brand-size classification but retained in the national total.
The 12 selected chains account for 1,928 included premises, or 46.6% of the study total. Their counts were compared with published outlet information. Differences in reporting dates, scope and the use of rounded or approximate figures prevent an exact overall agreement rate from being calculated.
Table 1. Comparison of study premise counts with published outlet references
Detailed outlet comparison table
12 of 12 brand comparisons. Scroll the table horizontally for sources.
| Brand group | Our count | Published count | Published figure as stated | Study count ÷ published reference (%) | Source | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIG CARiNG Group | 636 | 600 | 600+ | 106% | Big Caring Group website | Oct 2026 |
| Alpro Group | 277 | 300 | 300+ | 92% | Alpro website | Undated |
| Health Lane Family Pharmacy | 259 | 250 | 250+ | 104% | Health Lane website | 2026 |
| PMG Healthcare Group | 191 | 200 | 200+ pharmacies | 96% | UKAS (Sarawak govt news) | Undated |
| Sunway Multicare Pharmacy | 129 | 120 | 120+ | 108% | Sunway Multicare website | 2026 |
| Watsons (stores with pharmacist) | 104 | 101 | 101 | 103% | Watsons store finder | Oct 2026 |
| AA Pharmacy | 88 | 84 | 84 | 105% | AA Pharmacy profile | 2026 |
| Guardian (stores with pharmacist) | 86 | 100 | ~100 | 86% | The Edge | May 2025 |
| Mega Kulim Pharmacy | 57 | 50 | 50+ | 114% | Mega Kulim website | Oct 2026 |
| Farmasi Lautan | 50 | 51 | 51 | 98% | Malaysiakini announcement | Sep 2026 |
| HTM Pharmacy | 37 | 42 | 42 | 88% | HTM store locator | Oct 2026 |
| All Day Pharmacy (incl. Nova Health Mart) | 14 | 15 | 15 | 93% | All Day locations page | Apr 2026 |
| Total | 1928 | 1913 | 1,913+ (minimum) | 101% |
Note: Published references differ in date and scope. “+” indicates a lower bound and “~” an approximate figure. Comparison percentages are not accuracy rates, and an overall agreement percentage cannot be calculated.
Methodology and sources
Community pharmacies are often the first place Malaysians go for health advice, medicines and minor ailments. However, they are not spread evenly across the country. This report updates AIPharm’s 2022 community-pharmacy report using published data by the Pharmaceutical Service Department.
The report looks at:
- How community-pharmacy premises and active Type A licence records are distributed across states.
- How pharmacy-premise availability compares with population and household income.
- Which classified pharmacy brand group has the most included premises in each state.
This report is based on official registers and public sources. No interviews or surveys were carried out. The work had three steps.
1. Data sources
- Pharmacy licences: MOH Type A licence register, extracted on 27 September 2026 (8,374 licence rows).
- Population: DOSM 2026 estimates. Household income: DOSM Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2024. These datasets describe different reference years.
- Figures for community premises: Laporan Statistik 2025 PROGRAM PERKHIDMATAN FARMASI (PHARMACEUTICAL SERVICES PROGRAMME)
- Chain ownership and outlet numbers: chain websites, store locators and news reports.
2. Data processing
- In-force retail licences: Retail-capable licences valid on 27 September 2026 were retained, including retail-only and wholesale-and-retail licences. Wholesale-only licences and licences not valid on that date were excluded, leaving 6,473 licence records.
- Licences grouped into premises: licences at the same shop address were grouped, so each premise counts once.
- Community pharmacies only: clinics, hospitals, government, veterinary and distributor premises were excluded, along with premises where the evidence was insufficient. The final count is 4,134 community pharmacy premises with 4,748 active licences.
- Storefront brands were assigned where identifiable. Identified brands were consolidated into brand groups which are supported by published ownership information. Unclassified premises were retained in the overall premise count.
- Supply measures: premises were matched to states and districts to calculate people per pharmacy. These were then compared with population and household income.
3. Validation
Counts for 12 selected chains were compared with published outlet information. These chains account for 1,928 included premises, or 46.6% of the study total. Because the published figures use different dates and scopes, and include rounded or approximate counts, an exact overall agreement rate cannot be established.
Jenny Liew
PHARMACIST | DATA SCIENCE | HEALTHCARE ANALYTICS
A pharmacist and MSc Data Science and Analytics student at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
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