Six surprising facts about tax revenues around the world

Duncan Lamont

Governments globally are wrestling with how to finance their spending needs. We delve into OECD data and uncover some notable findings about taxes around the world.

1. Most economies are taxed more now relative to GDP than at any point for more than half a century
Tax as % of GDP: OECD average and South Africa

Data covers the 38 countries in the OECD and South Africa. Data for all countries is to 2022, or 2021 if unavailable. South Africa is to 2021. Source: OECD

This has been a trend across the majority of countries. Since 2012, over three quarters of countries in the OECD have experienced an increase in taxation as a percentage of GDP. Since 1980, around 90% have. South African taxes are lower than the OECD average on this basis but have been rising more steeply.

That being said, there is substantial variation between countries. Taxes are higher as a share of GDP in many European countries whereas they tend to be lower in the Americas. There are exceptions, of course. Ireland, for example.

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