The 19 countries where developers can earn the most

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19. South Korea — $48,529 (£33,495)

19. South Korea — $48,529 (£33,495)

Home of electronics giant Samsung, South Korea is having a tech boom and pays its developers accordingly. Over there that salary will buy you 13,518 Big Macs a year.

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18. Finland — $50,421 (£34,884)

18. Finland — $50,421 (£34,884)

Lapland is a great place to see the Northern Lights, and an even better place to get a good developer salary. Phone giant Nokia came from here and there's a burgeoning medical technology industry. But it's a pricey place so that'll only get you an annual count of 11,433 Big Macs.

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17. Austria — $51,793 (£35,748)

17. Austria — $51,793 (£35,748)

Austria's tech industry has spawned apps like Runtastic, which is popular with runners wanting to track their progress and compete against their friends. The average developer salary over there will get you 13,775 Big Macs.

16. France — $52,948 (£36,945)

16. France — $52,948 (£36,945)

France is a serious player in the tech startup world, topping the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 three years in a row. And though it may be famous for its fine cuisine, it also loves Big Macs. On the average developer salary there you could buy 12,009 a year.

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15. Germany — $53,650 (£37,030)

15. Germany — $53,650 (£37,030)

Germany has given a lot to science over the last century, and gave the internet Soundcloud, but its average tech salaries still don't crack the top 10. If you want to eat Big Macs for a year there they'll still get you 13,880.

14. China — $54,667 (£37,732)

14. China — $54,667 (£37,732)

You may not have heard of tech firms like Baidu, Letv or Tencent, but they're making waves in the most populous country on earth. And while it may seem surprising that an aggressively growing superpower doesn't pay its developers the most money,a decent salary there goes a lot further. 20,072 Big Macs a year, to be exact.

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13. Netherlands — $55,180 (£38,086)

13. Netherlands — $55,180 (£38,086)

The Netherlands may be known for flowers and shipping, but it's also the European headquarters for Netflix and Uber. That helps to bump up the average developer's pay. Pay also goes further than most European salaries, and will buy a French developer 14,873 Big Macs.

12. Sweden — $58,899 (£40,652)

12. Sweden — $58,899 (£40,652)

Sweden gave the world Spotify, the biggest music streaming site on earth. It's also home to King, the developers of the irritatingly addictive Candy Crush Saga. The country offers good tech salaries, but taxes are also high, which means you'll only get 11,291 Big Macs for that average pay.

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11. Belgium — $59,490 (£41,061)

11. Belgium — $59,490 (£41,061)

There are a slew of great startups in Belgium, including Evolved Analytics, which is revolutionising data monetisation. As such, Belgium may be a small nation but it offers big developer salaries. That money will go far by European standards too: 13,998 Big Macs over 12 months.

10. Canada — $70,307 (£48,527)

10. Canada — $70,307 (£48,527)

Montreal hosts some of the biggest video game developers in the world, including Assassin's Creed creator Ubisoft, so it's no surprise the average pay cracks the top ten. It's a pretty cheap place too, so that salary will buy 16,978 Big Macs a year.

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9. New Zealand — $70,727 (£48,817)

9. New Zealand — $70,727 (£48,817)

Home of the first pizza-delivering robot, New Zealand has a burgeoning tech scene, and some pretty hefty salaries. While its distance from most of the world makes products more expensive, 18,089 Big Macs is still great purchasing power.

8. Israel — $74,400 (£51,352)

8. Israel — $74,400 (£51,352)

Software companies are doing great in Israel, with apps like BreezoMeter — which can monitor air pollution from a phone — making waves. No doubt a big draw is average pay for their developers. Hopefully they enjoy Big Macs too, because that salary will get them 17,447.

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7. UK — $75,654 (£52,217)

7. UK — $75,654 (£52,217)

East London's "Silicon Roundabout" is getting talked about in the same breath as its Californian counterpart, so it's no sup rise average developer salaries in Britain are massive. And while no-one could accuse London of being cheap, the salary will still buy you 17,925 Big Macs.

6. Ireland — $76,747 (£52,272)

6. Ireland — $76,747 (£52,272)

Apple's only headquarters outside of the US is in Ireland, which should give you some idea why the country had the fastest growth in the EU in 2015. In similar numbers to the UK, the average developer salary buys 18,058 Big Macs a year.

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5. Norway — $77,429 (£53,443)

5. Norway — $77,429 (£53,443)

When people think of tech, Norway may not be the first nation to come to mind... but for ambitious developers it should be. More than 40 million people use Norway's "EdTech" products, including Kahoot! which creates classroom games and tests. The only drawback is perhaps the country's high living expenses. Even with all that money you'll only get 14,930 Big Macs over 12 months.

4. Australia — $80,093 (£55,281)

4. Australia — $80,093 (£55,281)

Now we're getting to the really big bucks. Sunny Sydney is vying to become a major tech hub, spearheaded by the head of the city's government Michael Baird. Developers across Australia are some of the best paid on earth. Like New Zealand, cost of living is a bit pricier than many countries on the list, but no-one's going to want to eat more than 21,426 Big Macs in a single year.

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3. Denmark — $81,778 (£56,444)

3. Denmark — $81,778 (£56,444)

Denmark tops the list for the best paying country in the EU for developers. One success story is Issuu, a website that allows people to submit their own content and has over 90 million monthly readers. While Denmark has the same cost of living as other expensive Scandinavian nations – you could buy 18,930 Big Macs a year on that salary – it's hard t imagine developers complaining with that paycheck.

2. Switzerland — $101,449 (£70,022)

2. Switzerland — $101,449 (£70,022)

One of only two countries to have six figure average salaries for developers, Switzerland treats its tech workers very well, thanks to government grants in startups via the Commission for Technology and Innovation. The only problem? It's also the most expensive country on the list. Even earning over $100k you'll still only be able to buy 15,753 Big Macs a year there.

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1. USA — $106,120 (£73,246)

1. USA — $106,120 (£73,246)

Where else? Of course the home of almost every tech giant in the world was going to have similarly gigantic average salaries for developers. Home to Facebook, Amazon, Google, Netflix and so many more, if you want to work as a developer, the states is the place to go. And while it may be surprising that the home of the Big Mac will only get you 21,530 of them a year, we doubt that'll put anyone off accepting a job in the tech capital of the world.