The Best Countries To Practice Medicine

Medical or health care is a topic of global interest. Without a doubt, there are many attractive countries to work as doctors, but not all of them offer the same opportunities or facilities to practice, especially when it comes to foreign professionals.

Medicine is probably one of the professions with the greatest barriers to entry, the validation of titles between countries is not simple and the different health systems in the world, in some cases with a predominance of a public health system in others with a predominant private health system can cause the salaries of professionals who provide a basic service of first necessity and high responsibility can vary greatly from one country to another. Below are some of the best countries to work in this area, according to 3 different indicators:

Countries with the highest paid doctors

The countries with the highest medical salaries and the highest GDP per capita, according to data collected by the International Labor Organization (ILO) are:

1. Netherlands

Average medical specialist salary: $ 253,000 / Per capita income ratio: 6

General medical average salary: $ 117,000 / Per capita income ratio: 3.6

2. Australia

Average medical specialist salary: $ 247,000 / Per capita income ratio: 7.6

General medical average salary: $ 91,000 / Per capita income ratio: 2.8

3. United States

Average medical specialist salary: $ 230,000 / Per capita income ratio: 5.7

General medical average salary: $ 161,000 / Per capita income ratio: 4.1

4. Belgium

Average medical specialist salary: $ 181,000 / Per capita income ratio: 6

General medical average salary: $ 61,000 / Per capita income ratio: 2

5. Canada

Average medical specialist salary: $ 161,000 / Per capita income ratio: 5.1

General medical average salary: $ 107,000 / Per capita income ratio: 3.4

6. United Kingdom

Average medical specialist salary: $ 150,000 / Per capita income ratio: 4.9

General medical average salary: $ 118,000 / Per capita income ratio: 3.9

7. France

Average medical specialist salary: $ 149,000 / Per capita income ratio: 5

General medical average salary: $ 92,000 / Per capita income ratio: 3.1

8. Ireland

Average medical specialist salary: $ 143,000 / Per capita income ratio: 4

General medical average salary: $ 90,000 / Per capita income ratio: 2.8

9. Switzerland

Average medical specialist salary: $ 109,000 / Per capita income ratio: 3.4

General medical average salary: $ 91,000 / Per capita income ratio: 2.9

10. Denmark

Average medical specialist salary: $ 130,000 / Per capita income ratio: 3.8

General medical average salary: $ 116,000 / Per capita income ratio: 3.4

The percentage of average annual income for general practitioners in these 10 countries is US $ 106,200, equivalent to € 91,600, exceeded mainly in the United States, where the average annual salary of a general practitioner is US $ 161,000 (€ 138,955).

Meanwhile, a specialist receives an average of US $ 174,200 (€ 150,320), a figure significantly exceeded by No. 1 in the list, The Netherlands, with an average salary of US $ 253,000. With respect to GDP per capita, the average of the 10 countries of GDP for specialists is 5.1, far exceeded in Australia where it corresponds to 7.6; and in general practitioners the average is 3.25, surpassed more widely by the United Kingdom, with 3.9.

The countries with the greatest innovation in Medicine

According to the 2014 Scimago Ranking of Innovation in Medicine, the 10 countries with the largest investment in the area of health are:

1. United States (195,153 publications)

2. China (63,441)

3. United Kingdom (53,917)

4. Germany (44,708)

5. Japan (36,114)

6. Italy (31,486)

7. France (29,681)

8. Canada (29,380)

9. Australia (25,725)

10. Spain (23,341)

Countries with the lowest proportion of doctors per capita

According to data collected by the World Health Organization (WHO), the 10 European countries with the lowest proportion of doctors per 1,000 inhabitants are:

1. Albania (1,145)

2. Turkey (1,711)

3. Tajikistan (1,918)

4. Bosnia and Herzegovina (1.93)

5. Kyrgyzstan (1,969)

6. Montenegro (2,113)

7. Serbia (2, 114) 8. Poland (2,219)

8. Cyprus (2,329)

9. Romania (2,448)

If we compare with the previous listings, the Netherlands has a rate of 3,149 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants; France 3.19; Denmark 3,485; United States 2,452; Ireland 2.67; United Kingdom 2,809; and Australia 3,273, among others. The lower the proportion, the greater the demand.

When comparing the 3 tables we find that the 2 countries with medical minors, higher pay, and degree of innovation are the United States and the United Kingdom

​