Where does it pay to be an academic?

In a survey of academic salaries in 15 countries around the world, Canada came out on top, with an average monthly salary of $4,856 per month (in PPP dollars), and China came last with a monthly salary of $1,182. …

… While academics in developing countries had lower wages than their counterparts abroad, they still had salaries that were much larger than the average GDP per capita in their home countries. Faculty in India make 8.7 times more than the average GDP per capita, while that figure is 5.8 and 5.4 for South Africa and Colombia, respectively. In contrast, academics in countries like the United States and Germany earn only between 1.4 and 2.2 times the GDP per capita. In other words, it looks plausible that some academics don't care just about their level of absolute wealth – their wealth relative to the rest of society must be bringing them some utility as well.