Junior doctors strike: Which countries pay doctors the most and least in Europe?

Health personnel and doctors in particular worked ceaselessly to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many did not go home for days or weeks at a time, and many lost their lives helping others. They became heroes, and the public showed its appreciation for their work and devotion.

However, health personnel remain largely unhappy about their salaries and working conditions. This includes doctors; both specialists and general practitioners (GPs).

In 2022, doctors marched in protest, warned of the possibility of strikes, or went on strike in European countries such as France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Turkey. They asked for increased pay but also complained about the lack of staff in their hospitals.

In England, tens of thousands of junior doctors began staging a 96-hour walkout on Monday over pay and working conditions. It will be the longest single industrial action by junior doctors ever in the country and follows another 3-day walkout in March and a series of historic strikes by nurses in December and again earlier this year.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said that newly-qualified doctors earn just £14.09 an hour (€15.95), less than a barista at coffee shop chain Pret-a-manger (which pays £14.10, or €15.96), adding that junior doctors have had a 26 per cent real terms pay cut since 2008.

In most European countries, the annual gross salaries of doctors increased in real terms between 2010 and 2020, according to figures released by the OECD. Salaries in real terms are values that take inflation into account. However, salaries fell in some countries in real terms in the last decade.

How much are doctors paid in Europe? Which countries pay doctors the most and the least? How much have doctors’ salaries