This article was first published 11 years ago

Countries where software engineers make a killing

June 20, 2014 13:10 IST

Image: A woman uses a computer in a Federal Labour Office job centre.
Photographs: Reuters

You will be surprised to know that among all the countries in the world a software engineer in Pakistan makes the most money compared to other professions in the country.

Taking data from PayScale, Bloomberg came up with a list of countries where software engineers are paid the highest compared to others workers.

The data do not talk plainly about the highest compensation. Rather, it compares the pay of software engineers with others’ taking into account average income in the country.

Let’s take a look at countries where it would be a wise choice to be a software engineer compared to other professions.

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Bloomberg PayScale Pakistan

Image: Freelance developer works a company in Karachi.
Photographs: Reuters

Pakistan

Rank: 1

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 5.56

Median annual pay for software engineers: $7,200

Average annual income: $1,296

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Pakistan

Image: Professionals work on their computer terminals at the Start-up Village.
Photographs: Sivaram V/Reuters

India

Rank: 2

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 3.91

Median annual pay for software engineers: $6,200

Average annual income: $1,584

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India

Image: Eight year old Jenni-Lee Mason stares in awe as she uses a computer for the first time.
Photographs: Reuters

South Africa

Rank: 3

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 3.64

Median annual pay for software engineers: $24,000

Average annual income: $6,595

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South Africa

Image: A man works on a laptop in a cafe of the newly opened Museum of Socialist Art in Sofia.
Photographs: Stoyan Nenov/Reuters

Bulgaria

Rank: 4

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 3.28

Median annual pay for software engineers: $25,200

Average annual income: $7,682

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Bulgaria

Image: People look at an Apple computer during the inauguration of a new Apple store in Nanjing Road, downtown Shanghai.
Photographs: Aly Song/Reuters

China

Rank: 5

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 3.15

Median annual pay for software engineers: $23,100

Average annual income: $7,333

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China

Image: A doctor uses computer at the state-run Lavra clinic in Kiev.
Photographs: Gleb Garanich/Reuters

Ukraine

Rank: 6

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 2.96

Median annual pay for software engineers: $11,600

Average annual income: $3,919

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Ukraine

Image: Sheila Ortencio, an online contractor, works on a compute.
Photographs: Romeo Ranoco/Reuters

Philippines

Rank: 7

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 2.69

Median annual pay for software engineers: $7,900

Average annual income: $2,935

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Philippines

Image: Professionals work on their computers.
Photographs: Nacho Doce/Reuters

Brazil

Rank: 8

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 2.46

Median annual pay for software engineers: $27,300

Average annual income: $11,080

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Brazil

Sherien Fathy, a blind 32-year-old mother of two, uses her special headphones as she works on her computer at the General Petroleum Corporation in Cairo.

Image: Sherien Fathy, a blind 32-year-old mother of two, uses her special headphones as she works on her computer at the General Petroleum Corporation in Cairo.
Photographs: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

Egypt

Rank: 9

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 2.19

Median annual pay for software engineers: $7,300

Average annual income: $3,333

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Egypt

Image: Marisol Valles Garcia sits at her desk at the police station in Praxedis G.Guerrero.
Photographs: Gael Gonzalez/Reuters

Mexico

Rank: 10

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 2.04

Median annual pay for software engineers: $22,000

Average annual income: $10,767

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Mexico

Image: Sri Lankan stock brokers monitor a computer screen during trading at the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Photographs: Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi/Reuters

Sri Lanka

Rank: 11

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.98

Median annual pay for software engineers: $6,700

Average annual income: $3,385

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Sri Lanka

Image: Job seekers apply for jobs using computers as they visit a job fair in Jakarta.
Photographs: Beawiharta/Reuters

Indonesia

Rank: 12

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.87

Median annual pay for software engineers: $6,400

Average annual income: $3,417

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Indonesia

Image: Palestinian woman students work on computers during their study in the Islamic Da'wi College in Deir Al Balah in Gaza Strip.
Photographs: Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters

Israel

Rank: 13

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.86

Median annual pay for software engineers: $70,700

Average annual income: $38,004

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Israel

Image: Customer look at computer screens in an Apple store in central Prague,
Photographs: Petr Josek/Reuters

Czech Republic

Rank: 14

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.75

Median annual pay for software engineers: $33,000

Average annual income: $18,846

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Czech Republic

Image: Children are seen in computer class at the Fatih College in Istanbul.
Photographs: Osman Orsal/Reuters

Turkey

Rank: 15

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.72

Median annual pay for software engineers: $17,100

Average annual income: $9,920

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Turkey

Image: Wiktor Wojciechowski (R) from the Civic Development Forum points on a computer as Poland's former Central Bank Governor Leszek Balcerowicz launches a "public debt counter" on a public screen in Warsaw.
Photographs: Peter Andrews/Reuters

Poland

Rank: 16

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.60

Median annual pay for software engineers: $22,600

Average annual income: $14,136

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Poland

Employees sit in front of computers during an online testing session to demonstrate a live broadcast from polling stations via a network of webcams installed all over the country at an election commission situational centre in Moscow.

Image: Employees sit in front of computers during an online testing session to demonstrate a live broadcast from polling stations via a network of webcams installed all over the country at an election commission situational centre in Moscow.
Photographs: Mikhail Voskresensky/Reuters

Russia

Rank: 17

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.51

Median annual pay for software engineers: $22,100

Average annual income: $14,645

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Russia

Image: Ignacio Jardon edits a video he took in Buenos Aires.
Photographs: Enrique Marcarian/Reuters

Argentina

Rank: 18

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.45

Median annual pay for software engineers: $14,000

Average annual income: $9,640

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Argentina

Image: Forth-year Arts student Nuriati Patarai.
Photographs: Reuters

Malaysia

Rank: 18

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.45

Median annual pay for software engineers: $16,500

Average annual income: $11,387

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Malaysia

Image: Mark Felegyhazi from Hungary's Laboratory of Cryptography and System Security, or CrySyS, works at his computer at the Budapest Technical University.
Photographs: Laszlo Balogh/reuters

Hungary

Rank: 20

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.44

Median annual pay for software engineers: $19,300

Average annual income: $13,363

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Hungary

Image: Attendees use their computers during a seminar at Social Media Week held in the Manhattan borough of New York.
Photographs: Zoran Milich/Reuters

United States

Rank: 21

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.38

Median annual pay for software engineers: $76,000

Average annual income: $54,980

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United States

Image: People surf the web during a 'Campus Party'.
Photographs: Paulo Whitaker/Reuters

United States

Rank: 21

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.38

Median annual pay for software engineers: $76,000

Average annual income: $54,980

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United States

Image: A representative of Microsoft poses for the media with a Samsung notebook to present a new children-friendly Microsoft Surface platform.
Photographs: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

Germany

Rank: 23

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.33

Median annual pay for software engineers: $63,800

Average annual income: $47,893

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Germany

Image: A worker on IG Index's trading floor looks at her computer screens as markets tumble globally, in London.
Photographs: Andrew Winning/Reuters

United Kingdom

Rank: 24

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.28

Median annual pay for software engineers: $56,200

Average annual income: $43,830

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United Kingdom

Image: A trader plays a computer game in the trading room of the Shanghai Petroleum Exchange in Shanghai.
Photographs: Aly Song/Reuters

Lithuania

Rank: 25

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.25

Median annual pay for software engineers: $21,000

Average annual income: $16,742

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Lithuania

Image: Traders look at computer screens during a Spanish bond auction in Madrid.
Photographs: Andrea Comas/Reuters

Spain

Rank: 26

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.22

Median annual pay for software engineers: $37,000

Average annual income: $30,432

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Spain

Image: French filmmaker Eleonore Pourriat sits at a computer in Paris.
Photographs: Charles Platiau/Reuters

France

Rank: 27

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.21

Median annual pay for software engineers: $54,700

Average annual income: $45,123

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France

Image: Scientists look at computer screens at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) control center of the CERN in Geneva.
Photographs: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Switzerland

Rank: 27

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.21

Median annual pay for software engineers: $104,200

Average annual income: $86,145

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Switzerland

Image: NGO delegates work in the Bella Cente.
Photographs: Reuters

Denmark

Rank: 29

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.16

Median annual pay for software engineers: $71,500

Average annual income: $61,889

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Denmark

Kognitive Marketing recruiter Maggie O'Rourke (L) conducts a recorded on-site interview with Nafisah Amir (R) at the 2014 Spring National Job Fair and Training Expo in Toronto.

Image: Kognitive Marketing recruiter Maggie O'Rourke (L) conducts a recorded on-site interview with Nafisah Amir (R) at the 2014 Spring National Job Fair and Training Expo in Toronto.
Photographs: Aaron Harris/Reuters

Canada

Rank: 30

Ratio of median software engineer pay to average income: 1.15

Median annual pay for software engineers: $57,500

Average annual income: $49,838

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Canada