Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Australia
Australia: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 30.4% in 2022. ▬ Flat
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Australia, 1980–2022
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Australia is 30.4%, measured in 2022.
That represents a change of down 1.5% on the previous year and up 11.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Australia peaked at 31.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 26.1%, in 2010.
Australia ranks 41st of 187 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 27.9% | — |
| 1981 | 28.3% | +1.3% |
| 1982 | 27.6% | -2.2% |
| 1983 | 28.0% | +1.4% |
| 1984 | 29.0% | +3.7% |
| 1985 | 29.0% | -0.1% |
| 1986 | 30.1% | +3.8% |
| 1987 | 30.5% | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 30.1% | -1.4% |
| 1989 | 29.1% | -3.4% |
| 1990 | 28.1% | -3.4% |
| 1991 | 27.1% | -3.6% |
| 1992 | 26.8% | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 27.3% | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 28.2% | +3.3% |
| 1995 | 29.2% | +3.6% |
| 1996 | 29.6% | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 29.4% | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 30.1% | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 30.9% | +2.7% |
| 2000 | 31.2% | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 29.9% | -4.4% |
| 2002 | 30.5% | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 31.0% | +1.7% |
| 2004 | 31.2% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 30.9% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 30.6% | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 30.6% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 27.3% | -10.8% |
| 2009 | 26.2% | -4.0% |
| 2010 | 26.1% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 26.3% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 27.2% | +3.2% |
| 2013 | 27.5% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 27.3% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 28.1% | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 28.5% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 29.2% | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 29.4% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 27.5% | -6.4% |
| 2020 | 29.9% | +8.6% |
| 2021 | 30.8% | +3.3% |
| 2022 | 30.4% | -1.5% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 30.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 1.0× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Australia's 30.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 18.1%, 1.7× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 29.0% | 27.6% | 30.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 28.7% | 26.8% | 30.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 29.9% | 26.2% | 31.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.7% | 26.1% | 29.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.4% | 29.9% | 30.8% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More poverty & inequality data for Australia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 3 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.64 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,690 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -0.0446 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 30.36 (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, annual growth rate -1.54 % change on previous year (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Australia?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Australia was 30.4% in 2022, according to UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 31.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.1% in 2010.
- How does Australia rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Australia ranks 41st out of 187 countries with data for 2022.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 43 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Taxes include direct and indirect taxes as well as social contributions. The Gini coefficient measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality.