Indian IT managers were fourth from the bottom with an average earnings of $25,000, according to a survey by Mercer. Indian IT managers are amongst those paid on the lower-end in the world, despite the concerns on the rising tech wages in the country.

The 'Mercer 2007 IT Pay around the World Survey' which compares the total annual cash compensation and total remuneration information for IT staff in 6,545 companies across 35 countries, found the pay for IT employees to be the highest in Switzerland and lowest in Vietnam.

Six of the world's 10 highest-paying countries for IT managers are in Western Europe - Switzerland paid the highest salaries followed by Denmark, Belgium and the UK. Based on gross annual total cash, IT staff at all levels are paid the highest in Switzerland, where as IT manager's job pays an average of $140,960 annually. The US and Canada ranked sixth and eighth position, respectively.

The survey found that IT managers in Vietnam, Bulgaria and the Philippines received the lowest pay, respectively, at $15,470, $22,240 and $22,280 a year. Indian IT managers were fourth from the bottom, earning an average of $25,000.

"The impact of outsourcing and offshoring on IT positions in North America and Western Europe helps explain the pattern of global pay. Lower-level roles are being moved to regions where talent is cheaper; the jobs that remain in Western Europe and the US may be fewer in number but are more demanding and complex like vendor relationship manager, internal consultant and IT business partner," David Van De Voort, IT workforce specialist in Mercer's Chicago office said in a statement.

The survey also found that large pay gaps existed between junior and senior career streams in Indonesia, India, Brazil, Chile and Vietnam, which have the highest pay progression ratios between the lowest and highest career streams.