AltHealth: Physician Salaries Around the World

What country has the highest paid doctors? The top 10 list holds some surprises. But first, a caveat: Take these statistics as a large generalization. A physician friend of mine noted that in his experience, there is a wide spread in earnings, especially among specialists, but also with primary care doctors. “Those in ortho, radiology and other specialties often earn $400,000 – $500,000. I believe many other doctor’s salaries are getting lowered when compared historically. I feel that, in the US, far too often the amount the doctor earns is the opposite of the quality they provide. Earnings depend purely upon seeing lots of people, billing for expensive procedures, and recommending more of them. The specialist that your primary care doctor refers you to is not necessarily what is best for you — it’s based on other factors.” My friend found the pay estimates for US doctors to be a bit low, so this is probably true across the board. The country averages, however, are an accurate comparison.

I have included each country’s ranking in life expectancy. All statistics given on expectancy will be an average including that of both men and women. However, it should be noted that women live longer than men in every country; their life span can be a decade or more longer than that of men. Here are the top 10, In ascending order: 

10. Denmark. What is so interesting about this country is that it is one of the few countries in the world that pays its primary care doctors better than its specialists. Here, primary care doctors earn $109,000 a year, while the specialists earn a mere $91,000. Eighty-four percent of the health care costs for citizens are covered by government funding and taxes with the rest covered by co-pays. Their citizens’ average life expectancy is 79.5 years; their world rank there is only 30. 

You will begin to notice something as you continue reading — what doctors are paid does not necessarily reflect the longevity of their country’s people. My friend may be right about about quality of care being disproportionate to the tax bracket that the physician occupies.

9. In Switzerland, specialists are paid $130,000 a year. Their primary care doctors are not far behind, earning $116,000. The country’s standing in life expectancy is pretty good too; they are number 9, with an average span of 82.6 years. Perhaps a neutral world attitude pays off.

8. Ireland pays its specialists $143,000 a year, but their primary care doctors earn only 90K. Their life expectancy is nothing to write home about, although they do better than Denmark. They rank #21, and their average is 80.9.

7. Next is France. Their specialists are paid $149,000, but again, their primary care doctors are far behind, earning $92,000 a year. I had expected their ranking in life expectancy to be higher, because they are known for providing good health care. Still, they do rank a respectable #13, with average of 81.9 years.

6. The United Kingdom pays their specialists $150,000, and their primary care physicians earn a decent $118,000. The high pay scale may surprise some since their citizens have zero co-pays for care, but quite a few of the people there pay for insurance so that they have shorter waits for medical attention and so they can choose the doctor that they prefer. As a result, docs are paid pretty well.

5. Canada is another surprise, because of the universal health care provided. But I have spoken with Canadians who say that, at times, they might have to wait so long for an appointment that death may arrive before the doctor does. To be fair, I have also heard that their maternity care is exceptional. Their specialists earn $161,000 and their primary care doctors earn $107,000. They tie with France in life expectancy ranking: #13 world wide, with the average age being 81.9.

4. Belgium pays big for a small country, but it depends very much on the individual physician’s practice; a specialist earns $188,000 but their primary care doctors are paid a paltry 61K. The nation’s life expectancy is #19, with citizens living to an average of 81.1 years.

3. Here, we arrive at ourselves! The United States is third worldwide in average salaries. Here again, the specialists are earning far more than the primary care doctors, taking in about $230,000 a year, although my friend sees this as a low estimate; we all know that those Beverly Hill plastic surgeons earn enough to afford their own space ships. Your family physician, responsible for referrals and primary care, doesn’t do badly at all if we compare their salary to that of their counterparts in Belgium; still, they make far less than specialists, $161,000 on average. But the real crime here is our country’s ranking in life expectancy. We were only #27 in the world in 2017, living an average of 80 years. Since then, our rate has declined even further, while health costs have gone up.

2. Australia is a big vacation spot for many specialists, and why not? Here, a visiting physician can earn a piece of the citizen doctor’s pie: $247,000 a year. Primary care doctors, however, may not want to make the trip. At 91K, the general practitioner in Australia makes far less than their US counterparts. The average life expectancy is #11 world wide: 82.3 years.

1. Coming in first is the Netherlands. This was a big surprise to me. Their specialists make $253,000 a year. Not so surprisingly, their primary care physicians do not make even half of that., earning 117K. Here, it is obvious that their ranking in life expectancy does not warrant the pay scale of their wealthiest doctors; it is not as bad as that of the US, but they are still only #17, living an average of 81.4 years.

I am in Taiwan right now, where primary care physicians are paid only $53,850 a year and a senior specialist makes at the most about 83K. Interestingly, their overall health is better than that of US residents. They rank 26, with an average expectancy about 80.2. They beat out Denmark as well. How does this happen with such paltry pay for their attending doctors? One reason is that only 1.7% of medical expenses go toward administrative costs; the rest is all spent on medical needs. With their one buyer system for insurance (the government here is sole handler) there are no corporate mouths to feed. This helps quite a bit.

You may want to check out these life expectancy statistics yourself. Some can be a real shock. For instance, who would guess that people live longer in war-torn Syria than they do in the sunny Bahamas? To find out who is Number One, visit photius.com/rankings/2018/population/life_expectancy_at_birth_total_population_2018_0.html