Numbers of practising veterinary surgeons relative to GNP

A comparison of the number of practising veterinary surgeons relative to GNP, shows that "national wealth" is a determining factor in veterinary surgeon demographics.

Two groups of countries stand out.

The first group includes Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Portugal, Spain, Finland and Slovenia, which are above the average for the ratio, which is 88.1.

The second group of countries under the average includes France, the United Kingdom and Denmark. This is logical in the case of France and the United Kingdom as their high GNP brings the ratio down. A higher ratio could have been expected however for Denmark.

Generally speaking, the richer a country, the fewer veterinary surgeons it has. It would appear that the added value to be shared by veterinary activity is greater in countries with a high GNP. This has a direct effect on the ability of veterinary clinics to recruit veterinary assistants. With a low GNP, the added value to be shared is limited and the veterinary surgeon tends to do everything in his clinic.