EU: Researchers lag in salary stakes

An international survey of researchers’ salaries carried out for the European Commission shows that average salaries in the EU are more than a third less than those in the US and also significantly below the rates for Australia, India and Japan. But other factors as well as pay could be holding back Europe's research effort.

The average gross salary for researchers across the 25 EU countries in 2006 was €40,126 (US$59,500) compared with an American average of €62,793 (US$93,100).

Only in Austria, where researchers were paid €60,530, the Netherlands (€56,721) and Luxembourg (€56,268) were EU salaries roughly comparable to the American level, though among the EU's associated countries, Israel (€59,580) and Switzerland (€59,902) also match those in the US.

In all cases, salaries and other benefits were converted in terms of standardised purchasing power standards (PPS) so as to allow for differences in the cost of living between different countries. This can make a substantial difference – for example the remuneration difference between Greece and Germany is €30,447 without PPS but the gap narrows to €22,523 with PPS.

The overall picture of research remuneration in EU countries presented by this latest study, Remunerations of researchers in the public and private commercial sectors, is largely familiar – though the on-line survey, covering almost 10,000 replies, is one of the most extensive conducted by the commission in recent years.

In terms of salaries paid to researchers, the top countries are those in central Europe and the Nordic region while the lowest levels are found in Eastern Europe and Mediterranean countries. Also unsurprising is the finding that female researchers are paid less in almost all countries, with the difference rising to as much as 35% in Estonia, the Czech Republic, Israel and Portugal.

Brussels officials said that although research facilities such as laboratory and testing equipment, premises, publishing outlets and proximity to other research organisations were not included in the survey, these factors were of paramount importance in the research field.

"It could be deduced that the highest salaries are paid to researchers in countries where the conditions for research work are also at the top of the league," said a commission education official.

Clearly there are chronic imbalances between EU countries in resources devoted to research, though the more serious gap is between Europe and the rest of the world. This threatens a research brain drain at the very time when the EU needs all the scientific talent it can muster in the context of the Lisbon intellectual challenge.

EU science and research commissioner Janez Poto_nik said that the huge disparity of salaries "contributes to our top people seeing better opportunities elsewhere in the world". But money may not be not the only problem, Poto_nik said. There could be a need for a culture change.

"In some member states, more attention needs to be given to the value society places on the people carrying out work vital to our future. In other words, it seems more needs to be done to raise the social status of researchers in Europe."

Full study on the Europa site

Table: How their wages compare

Average salaries of researchers
(In PPS terms in selected EU countries)

Austria: €60,530
Belgium: €56,998
The Netherlands: €56,720
Germany: €53,368
UK: €52,776
Ireland: €49,554
France: €47,550
Denmark: €43,669
Spain: €38,873
Finland: €36,646
Italy: €34,120
Poland: €21,591