Numbers of veterinary assistants relative to GNP

The ratio of the number of veterinary assistants over GNP is indicative of the influence of national wealth on the number of veterinary assistants.

Countries fall into two large groups.

The first group includes countries with a ratio below the average of the countries studied: Spain, Slovenia, Portugal, Hungary, and the United Kingdom. Hungary and Slovenia are found alongside the United Kingdom due to a high number of veterinary assistants and a low GNP. There a lot of Hungarian and Slovenian veterinary assistants as they are no doubt responsible for more tasks than in the United Kingdom.

The second group includes countries with a ratio above the average: Demark, Finland, Slovakia and last but not least France. This may be explained by the fact that regulations restrict what veterinary assistants are technically allowed to do. Furthermore, shared wealth is decreasing in France because of the sizeable inflow of foreign vets.