Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Bahrain
Bahrain: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 2.8% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Bahrain, 1980–2020
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Bahrain recorded 2.8% for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in 2020.
That represents a change of down 1.9% on the previous year and up 150.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Bahrain peaked at 8.2% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2014.
That places Bahrain 184th out of 187 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Bahrain, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 3.6% | — |
| 1981 | 3.9% | +9.8% |
| 1982 | 4.5% | +14.6% |
| 1983 | 5.7% | +25.8% |
| 1984 | 5.8% | +2.2% |
| 1985 | 6.1% | +5.1% |
| 1986 | 8.2% | +34.9% |
| 1987 | 7.1% | -14.4% |
| 1988 | 5.8% | -18.3% |
| 1989 | 6.3% | +8.8% |
| 1990 | 4.2% | -32.3% |
| 1991 | 4.3% | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 4.5% | +5.4% |
| 1993 | 4.5% | -1.3% |
| 1994 | 4.3% | -3.3% |
| 1995 | 4.0% | -8.0% |
| 1996 | 4.2% | +5.5% |
| 1997 | 4.2% | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 4.8% | +13.2% |
| 1999 | 4.2% | -12.6% |
| 2000 | 3.6% | -14.7% |
| 2001 | 3.8% | +7.4% |
| 2002 | 3.4% | -10.7% |
| 2003 | 3.2% | -7.6% |
| 2004 | 4.0% | +27.5% |
| 2005 | 1.1% | -72.4% |
| 2006 | 1.1% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 1.1% | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 1.2% | +7.9% |
| 2009 | 1.3% | +10.3% |
| 2010 | 1.1% | -13.7% |
| 2011 | 1.1% | -5.0% |
| 2013 | 1.0% | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 0.8% | -23.0% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | +24.9% |
| 2016 | 0.8% | -18.3% |
| 2017 | 0.9% | +15.8% |
| 2018 | 1.1% | +16.7% |
| 2019 | 2.9% | +163.4% |
| 2020 | 2.8% | -1.9% |
Bahrain compared with similar countries
- Bahrain's 2.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 9% of the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Bahrain's 2.8% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 8.0%, 35% of the median. (19 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Bahrain changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | +163.4% | 1.1% | 2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5.7% | 3.6% | 8.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.3% | 4.0% | 4.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.4% | 1.1% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.2% | 0.8% | 2.9% | 9 |
| 2020s | 2.8% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bahrain
More poverty & inequality data for Bahrain
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.82 live births per woman (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 2.82 (2020)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2020)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, annual growth rate -1.91 % change on previous year (2020)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.165 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 19.0% (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in women 0.0864 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex 0.0864 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in men 0.0873 (2023)
- Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOP) per capita in US$ 336.94 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Bahrain?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Bahrain was 2.8% in 2020, 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 Bahrain?
- The highest recorded value was 8.2% in 1986.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Bahrain?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2014.
- How does Bahrain rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Bahrain ranks 184th out of 187 countries with data for 2020.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Bahrain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 150.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Bahrain 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.
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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.