No 71 - How many Big Macs can your average doctor enjoy in 2023 and 2008?

Jun 18, 2023

No 30 - Top 20 Countries for GP Quality of Life (GP-QOL) - As determined by the Big Mac Index

March 26, 2022

tldr The Big Mac Index (BMI) is a real economic tool and helps you compare countries. Using the BMI, Switzerland has the most expensive Big Macs but also the best paid GPs. I recently wrote a piece ranking countries by their estimated work-life balance for doctors and this left me feeling a bit wishy-washy. It was very subjective and then updated on a q…

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Who remembers reading this blog way back at No 30?

If you can remember all the way back then you will know that I love the Big Mac Index. Not only is it all about tasty burgers but its also a really useful way to compare countries and salaries.

There has been a lot of fuss recently about “junior” doctors’ salaries in the UK and if you believe the BMA calculations, since 2008, their purchasing power has decreased by 26%. (All references are at the bottom!)

And this year, inflation has been running at about 10% and food inflation at 19%!

So, here are some fun questions for you…

Could a doctor in the UK or Australia afford more Big Macs in 2023?
Could a Military or NHS doctor in 2008 afford more Big Macs than they could today?

What do you think?

Big Mac Costs in the USA

Big Mac USA 1960s Cost = $0.45
Big Mac USA 1970s Cost = $0.65
Big Mac USA 1980s Cost = $1.60
Big Mac USA 1990s Cost = $2.45
Big Mac USA 2000s Cost = $2.39
Big Mac USA 2010s Cost = $4.19
Big Mac USA 2020s Cost = $4.95

Finding this data for the UK was a bit trickier!

Big Mac Costs in the UK

Big Mac UK 2008 Cost = £2.29
Big Mac UK 2023 Cost = £3.69

So, the cost of a Big Mac has gone up steeply but have our salaries?

It turns out that the “Cost of Living Crisis” is global and has hit Australia even harder. Their Big Macs have gone from $5.10 to $7.35!

NHS GPSt3 2008 = £52k to £62k
Military GPSt3 2008 = £71k
NHS GPSt3 2008 = £53k approx.
Military GPSt3 2023 = £80k
Australian Army Doctor (Major) 2023 = $160k
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So, Who Can Buy The Most Burgers?

NHS GPSt3 2008 = £52k to £62k /£2.29 = 22707 or 27074 Big Macs
Military GPSt3 2008 = £71k /£2.29 = 31004 Big Macs
NHS GPSt3 2023 = £53k / £3.69 = 16802 Big Macs
Military GPSt3 2023 = £80k/ £3.69 = 21680 Big Macs
Australian Army Doctor (Major) 2023 = $160k /$7.35 = 21768 Big Macs

Its no surprise that an Australian Army Doc eats better than a British Army Doc who comparatively feasts on burgers compared to their colleagues in the NHS. But you really wanted to be that Army Doc munching Maccies in 2008!