How much does a doctor earn in Chile in 2026: public-sector pay by hours and years of service

A doctor who joins Chile's public health system on a 44-hour week earns 2,502,413 Chilean pesos gross a month, rising to 4,745,256 pesos after six years of service, according to the [public health sector pay scale](https://hcv.cl/HCV2/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Escala-de-sueldos-completa-2026.pdf) of the Ministry of Health in force since June 2026. With 39 years of service, the fixed amount reaches 5,976,085 pesos.

These figures are the fixed salary on the scale, without shifts, overtime or special allowances, which can raise the total considerably. Here is the scale by working hours and seniority, how it is made up, what doctors earn in the private sector and how solid the data are.

How much a doctor earns in Chile's public sector

Doctors in the public health services are governed by Law 19,664, which sets weekly schedules of 11, 22, 33 and 44 hours and a career built on three-year steps (trienios). This is the gross monthly pay on the Health Ministry scale, for the private pension (AFP) system under Decree Law 3,500, including the 1.4% adjustment applied from June 2026:

The jump at six years happens because the scale replaces the "assignment and training stage" allowance (28% of base salary) with the "senior staff stage" allowance (108% of base salary) and adds a 40% qualified-experience allowance. For those in the old pension system (Decree Law 3,501), amounts are slightly higher: 2,549,484 pesos at entry and 6,023,156 pesos with 39 years, on a 44-hour week.

How the salary is made up

The base salary of a doctor on 44 hours is 1,367,587 pesos from June 2026. The rest comes from statutory allowances. This is the breakdown for a doctor with six years of service, according to the same scale:

The scale includes other allowances that are not in that figure because they depend on the post or the location: responsibility (management posts), emergency shifts, hard-to-fill posts, extreme zones and incentive payments, explained in material from the Medical Association. A doctor who works shifts or in remote areas can earn considerably more than the table shows.

How much a newly qualified doctor and a specialist trainee earn

The scale shows the path of a doctor hired by a public health service. A new graduate joining on 44 hours starts at 2.5 million pesos gross. Doctors in specialist training programs (residents) have their own table: a resident under Article 43 of Law 15,076 receives 3,600,037 pesos gross a month from June 2026, including a 50% base-salary increase for priority specialties such as Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care, Family Medicine and Geriatrics.

How the public system hires doctors

Newly qualified doctors can apply to the Assignment and Training Stage (EDF), which posts them to hospitals and primary care centers, often in the regions, in exchange for preferential access to a specialist training place. That is the "EDF" stage on the scale, with an allowance of 28% of base salary. Others join a health service post directly or municipal primary care, which has its own scale (Law 19,378) and is not covered in this article.

The public system also pays by hours: someone hired for 22 hours earns half of what a 44-hour doctor earns, and many doctors combine a 22- or 33-hour public post with work in private clinics.

How much a doctor earns in Chile's private sector

There is no public scale for private clinics and practices: doctors are usually paid per service, per shift or as contractors. The most widely used reference is the Education Ministry's MiFuturo portal, which measures graduates' incomes using tax records. According to EUNAMed's summary of data to September 2024, medicine graduates earn 2,649,836 pesos gross a month in their first year and 4,021,010 pesos in their fifth. MiFuturo mixes public and private sectors and does not separate specialties, so it is only a reference.

Job ads and salary websites show very scattered figures (from under 1 million to more than 10 million pesos) because they mix part-time posts, one-off shifts and specialists. That is why this article relies on the official scale.

Comparison with other public salaries

For comparison, a 44-hour doctor with six years of service earns more than a teacher with the same seniority and less than a trial judge. At entry, the salary equals about 4.5 times the minimum wage of 553,553 pesos (our calculation). Amounts are adjusted each December by the public-sector pay law; the 2025 law (Law 21,806) gave 2% in December 2025 and 1.4% in June 2026. At an exchange rate of about 987 pesos per dollar, the entry salary is roughly US$2,535 gross a month (our calculation).

Frequently asked questions

In a public health service on a 44-hour week, 2,502,413 pesos gross a month according to the Health Ministry scale in force since June 2026, without shifts or special allowances.

With six years of service and 44 hours, 4,745,256 pesos gross; with 39 years, 5,976,085 pesos, under the AFP pension system.

There is no public scale. MiFuturo, with 2024 data, puts medicine graduates between 2.6 million pesos gross in year one and 4 million in year five, mixing public and private sectors.

No. Shifts, overtime and allowances such as extreme-zone or hard-to-fill posts are added separately and can raise pay considerably.