Tax revenue

93 countries, 2024. Unit: % of GDP.

First in the ranking
35.4 %
Median country
18.0 %
half above, half below
World
13.9 %
World Bank aggregate
Range
0.6 to 35.4
United Arab Emirates - Lesotho

How to read it

Across 93 countries worldwide, the highest value is in Lesotho (35.4 %) and the lowest in United Arab Emirates (0.6 %).

The median country is at 18.0 %: half are above, half below.

For the world as a whole, the value fell from 14.2 % in 1991 to 13.9 % in 2024.

Taxes are compulsory, unrequited payments, in cash or in kind, made by institutional units to government units. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Compare selected countries · on the world map

Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) · via World Bank WDI (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS) · licence

Tax revenue over time

%

Add to chart:

Ranking of countries

2024
In chart Continent Share of the highest value
1Lesotho35.4Africa
2Namibia33.9Africa
3Denmark33.4Europe
4New Zealand29.5Oceania
5Luxembourg28.6Europe
6Macao27.4Asia
7Greece27.4Europe
8Sweden27.2Europe
9United Kingdom26.9Europe
10South Africa25.9Africa
11Austria25.8Europe
12Italy25.6Europe
13Finland25.3Europe
14Netherlands25.3Europe
15Norway24.5Europe
16Georgia24.3Asia
17Malta24.1Europe
18Fiji23.9Oceania
19Cyprus23.9Asia
20Solomon Islands23.3Oceania
21Israel23.2Asia
22Belgium23.0Europe
23France22.8Europe
24Hungary22.7Europe
25Morocco22.7Africa
26Estonia22.7Europe
27Armenia22.4Asia
28Portugal22.3Europe
29Lithuania21.9Europe
30Mozambique21.8Africa
31El Salvador21.8North America
32Nauru21.4Oceania
33Ukraine21.0Europe
34Slovenia21.0Europe
35Bulgaria20.7Europe
36Mauritius20.5Africa
37Bosnia and Herzegovina20.2Europe
38Nicaragua20.1North America
39Kyrgyzstan19.6Asia
40Slovakia19.1Europe
41Zambia18.8Africa
42Moldova18.8Europe
43North Macedonia18.8Europe
44Burkina Faso18.7Africa
45Czechia18.6Europe
46Chile18.3South America
47Albania18.0Europe
48Ireland17.9Europe
49Uruguay17.9South America
50Latvia17.6Europe
51Türkiye17.6Asia
52Poland17.4Europe
53Azerbaijan17.3Asia
54Bahamas17.3North America
55Mongolia16.9Asia
56Romania16.2Europe
57Malawi15.6Africa
58Andorra15.6Europe
59Papua New Guinea15.5Oceania
60Brazil15.4South America
61Colombia15.2South America
62Thailand15.2Asia
63Spain14.9Europe
64Mexico14.8North America
65Dominican Republic14.7North America
66Philippines14.4Asia
67Canada13.7North America
68Singapore13.6Asia
69Costa Rica13.5North America
70South Korea13.3Asia
71Belarus13.0Europe
72Rwanda12.7Africa
73Uganda12.6Africa
74Malaysia12.4Asia
75Tanzania12.3Africa
76Guatemala11.6North America
77Paraguay11.3South America
78Lebanon11.1Asia
79Madagascar10.9Africa
80Germany10.9Europe
81Russia10.9Europe
82United States10.8North America
83Tajikistan10.7Asia
84Argentina10.4South America
85Switzerland9.5Europe
86Guinea-Bissau8.3Africa
87Saudi Arabia8.1Asia
88Angola7.6Africa
89Panama7.2North America
90China7.0Asia
91Ethiopia3.4Africa
92Somalia2.2Africa
93United Arab Emirates0.6Asia
World Bank, WDI · GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS · 2024 · CC BY 4.0 Source and licence

Biggest changes, 2014-2024

change in percentage points · 88 countries

Largest increase

  1. Bahamas 11.3 → 17.3 +6.0 pp
  2. Lithuania 16.0 → 21.9 +5.8 pp
  3. Saudi Arabia 2.7 → 8.1 +5.4 pp
  4. El Salvador 16.7 → 21.8 +5.1 pp
  5. Burkina Faso 13.7 → 18.7 +5.0 pp

Largest decrease

  1. Macao 35.1 → 27.4 −7.7 pp
  2. Ethiopia 8.8 → 3.4 −5.4 pp
  3. Ireland 22.5 → 17.9 −4.5 pp
  4. Angola 12.0 → 7.6 −4.4 pp
  5. Denmark 36.6 → 33.4 −3.2 pp

Continents over time

median country of each continent

Tax revenue - continent medians

%

Africa Asia Europe North America South America Oceania

10 15 20 25 2009 Africa: 11.69 Asia: 12.88 Europe: 19.17 North America: 14.16 South America: 13.57 Oceania: 18.4 2010 Africa: 13.39 Asia: 13.03 Europe: 19.78 North America: 14.43 South America: 14.25 Oceania: 17.72 2011 Africa: 14.53 Asia: 13.11 Europe: 19.65 North America: 14.79 South America: 14.85 Oceania: 17.78 2012 Africa: 13.89 Asia: 13.47 Europe: 20.16 North America: 15.01 South America: 14.33 Oceania: 19.34 2013 Africa: 12.61 Asia: 13.3 Europe: 20.24 North America: 15.06 South America: 14.12 Oceania: 18.32 2014 Africa: 13.12 Asia: 13.69 Europe: 20.7 North America: 15.93 South America: 14.86 Oceania: 19.16 2015 Africa: 12.67 Asia: 13.08 Europe: 20.59 North America: 16.17 South America: 15.36 Oceania: 19.73 2016 Africa: 13.35 Asia: 13.16 Europe: 20.99 North America: 16.17 South America: 14.09 Oceania: 21.52 2017 Africa: 12.62 Asia: 13.28 Europe: 20.87 North America: 15.68 South America: 13.65 Oceania: 20.82 2018 Africa: 12.24 Asia: 13.47 Europe: 20.49 North America: 13.17 South America: 14.29 Oceania: 23.12 2019 Africa: 12.24 Asia: 14.41 Europe: 20.69 North America: 13.3 South America: 14.13 Oceania: 22.23 2020 Africa: 12.72 Asia: 13.62 Europe: 20.32 North America: 13.9 South America: 13.08 Oceania: 20.39 2009 2013 2015 2017 2020

By continent

median country
Africa 15.6 %
Asia 15.2 %
Europe 21.0 %
North America 14.2 %
South America 15.3 %
Oceania 23.3 %

Tick a country in the table to add it to the chart above, up to six at a time. The ranking uses the latest year for which at least half of the countries have a value; countries without a value that year are not listed.