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Data

Tax revenue as share of GDP

About this data

Source
OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
September 4, 2019
Date range
1990–2017
Unit
%

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

OECD – Global Revenue Statistics Database

In 69 countries, the reporting year of tax revenue coincides with the calendar year, whereas 11 have different reporting years. Where the GDP reporting year differs from the calendar year, annual GDP estimates are calculated by aggregating quarterly GDP estimates corresponding to each country's fiscal (tax) year.

For further information on the OECD classification of taxes, see the OECD's Revenue Statistics Interpretative Guide (2017) available at: https://www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/oecd-classification-taxes-interpretative-guide.pdf

For a more extensive discussion of revenue statistics, see the full OECD Revenue Statistics 2018 report (http://www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/revenue-statistics-2522770x.htm).

Retrieved on
September 4, 2019
Retrieved from
https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=RS_GBL
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
OECD (2018). Global Revenue Statistics Database.

In 69 countries, the reporting year of tax revenue coincides with the calendar year, whereas 11 have different reporting years. Where the GDP reporting year differs from the calendar year, annual GDP estimates are calculated by aggregating quarterly GDP estimates corresponding to each country's fiscal (tax) year.

For further information on the OECD classification of taxes, see the OECD's Revenue Statistics Interpretative Guide (2017) available at: https://www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/oecd-classification-taxes-interpretative-guide.pdf

For a more extensive discussion of revenue statistics, see the full OECD Revenue Statistics 2018 report (http://www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/revenue-statistics-2522770x.htm).

Retrieved on
September 4, 2019
Retrieved from
https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=RS_GBL
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
OECD (2018). Global Revenue Statistics Database.

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All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. Preparing this original data involves several processing steps. Depending on the data, this can include standardizing country names and world region definitions, converting units, calculating derived indicators such as per capita measures, as well as adding or adapting metadata such as the name or the description given to an indicator.

At the link below you can find a detailed description of the structure of our data pipeline, including links to all the code used to prepare data across Our World in Data.

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Tax revenue as share of GDP”. Our World in Data (2026). Data adapted from OECD. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260511-092124/grapher/tax-revenue-share-gdp-oecd-grsd.html [online resource] (archived on May 11, 2026).

How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data. “Tax revenue as share of GDP” [dataset]. OECD, “Global Revenue Statistics Database” [original data]. Retrieved May 11, 2026 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260511-092124/grapher/tax-revenue-share-gdp-oecd-grsd.html (archived on May 11, 2026).

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