Pakistani Developers Earn Lowest Annual Salaries Globally

Full-time employed professional developers in Pakistan earn some of the lowest salaries globally, ranging from $2,000 to $12,000 annually, falling behind countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, Venezuela, and Iran. According to the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2023, there are substantial variations in salaries across different countries and continents. The United States, Switzerland, and Luxembourg offer as low as $70,000 to as high as $200,000 in annual compensation. Conversely, countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia fall at the lowest end of the salary spectrum. Professional Pakistani developers earn a median salary of roughly $5,000 per year. In the United States, developers earn a median annual salary of around $150,000, with most salaries falling between $115,000 and $200,000, based on responses from 7,970 professionals. Switzerland follows closely with a median salary of just over $120,000, with the highest salaries of up to $150,000 from a sample of 464 developers. In Europe, developer pay remains strong in high-income countries. For example, Ireland offers a median annual salary of approximately $95,000 (sample size: 298), while the United Kingdom’s median stands at around $80,000, based on data from 689 developers. The range for UK developers generally spans from $60,000 to $118,000. In Asia, however, salaries for developers are comparatively lower. Developers in Pakistan earn among the lowest median salaries worldwide, approximately $5,000 annually, with most pay ranging between $2,000 and $12,000, from a sample size of 173 respondents. Bangladesh also falls on the lower end, with annual salaries clustering between $4,000 and $14,000, based on 42 survey responses. Asia and Africa generally report lower median salaries, while North America and Western Europe dominate the higher end. Countries like Kenya and Nigeria also reported lower developer compensations, with medians around $8,000 and $10,000, respectively. In Japan, the survey captures high-end responses from 86 developers which revealed a salary range between $36,000 and $76,000, while in Brazil, developers pocket annual salaries ranging from $18,000 to $51,000.