15 Highest Paying Countries for Nurses

Published on August 26, 2015 at 5:17 am by Aleksandar Jevtic in Lists

In these 15 highest paying countries for nurses graduating from nursing school can be very profitable, as we all know that not all nurses are being paid equally.

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A nurse practitioner is a very hard job. The responsibility is sometimes overwhelming, the hours are long and working conditions aren’t always what they should be. Nurses are often unappreciated. This is best illustrated by the fact that some names that appear among highest paying countries for doctors are absent from this list. Needless to say, if you are looking nursing job abroad, you should stay away from them.

Different nursing jobs pay differently. Apart from their specialization, the experience is a huge factor in determining the nurse’s salary. That is why nurses’ wages in the same country, sometimes in the same hospital, can vary as much as 100%. In order to compensate for this, we have used median wage in the creation of this list.

Since the majority of nurses is employed by governments, they have taken a significant pay cuts in the last few years, as countries around the world combat debt crisis and try to enforce austerity measures. This is especially true for European countries, although they still hold 9 out of 15 spots on the list.

To better compare highest paying countries for nurses, we used what is commonly known purchasing power parity. This is a method that provides better insight into salary comparison then just using the nominal amount. Plainly put, a $500 a month salary in some countries is more than enough for living. In others, not so much. In some parts of the United States it would barely cover food and rent. That is why purchasing power parity (or PPP) is a handy tool for comparing income across various countries. Another important thing to remember is how much overtime nurses have. In order to really compare wages, one would have to compare a number of hours nurses work on average, as well as the number of nurses per 1,000 population.

Now, let’s see these highest paying countries for nurses.

15. United Kingdom

Yearly wage in PPP USD: $44,000

Unlike doctors, who are among the best paid in the world, UK nurses earn below average salary in this country.

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14. Israel

Yearly wage in PPP USD: 45,000

In their region of the world, Israeli nurses are without peer.

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13. Netherlands

Yearly wage in PPP USD: 46,000

Dutch nurses earn $46,000 when adjusted for PPP.

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12. Spain

Yearly wage in PPP USD: 46,000

Five years ago, Spanish nurses were among the highest paid in the world, but the austerity measures have taken their toll on them.

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11. Germany

Yearly wage in PPP USD: 47,000

Somehow, we expected Germany to be placed higher on the list, considering high esteem their health care sector enjoys.