Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Barbados
Barbados: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 26.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Barbados, 1981–2023
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Barbados recorded 26.2% for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and up 29.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Barbados peaked at 26.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 18.7%, in 1981.
That places Barbados 59th out of 187 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Barbados, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 18.7% | — |
| 1982 | 19.6% | +4.7% |
| 1983 | 22.0% | +12.5% |
| 1984 | 22.4% | +1.9% |
| 1986 | 22.8% | +1.5% |
| 1987 | 21.6% | -5.0% |
| 1988 | 22.0% | +1.9% |
| 1989 | 23.1% | +5.0% |
| 1990 | 26.1% | +12.7% |
| 2003 | 24.7% | -5.2% |
| 2004 | 25.2% | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 24.3% | -3.9% |
| 2006 | 22.7% | -6.4% |
| 2007 | 23.0% | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 22.5% | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 21.8% | -3.2% |
| 2010 | 21.8% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 22.8% | +4.6% |
| 2012 | 21.6% | -5.4% |
| 2013 | 20.2% | -6.2% |
| 2014 | 20.6% | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 22.6% | +10.0% |
| 2016 | 24.9% | +10.0% |
| 2017 | 24.2% | -2.7% |
| 2018 | 25.0% | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 25.4% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 24.4% | -3.8% |
| 2021 | 26.2% | +7.1% |
| 2022 | 26.6% | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 26.2% | -1.8% |
Barbados compared with similar countries
- Barbados's 26.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 88% of the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Barbados's 26.2% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 19.6%, 1.3× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 21.5% | 18.7% | 23.1% | 8 |
| 1990s | 26.1% | 26.1% | 26.1% | 1 |
| 2000s | 23.5% | 21.8% | 25.2% | 7 |
| 2010s | 22.9% | 20.2% | 25.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.9% | 24.4% | 26.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Barbados
- 56 Switzerland 26.8% compare
- 57 Samoa 26.4% compare
- 58 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 26.2% compare
- 60 Uruguay 25.9% compare
- 61 Kyrgyzstan 25.9% compare
- 62 Albania 25.5% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Barbados
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 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 1.71 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,793 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 -0.1287 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 26.16 (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, annual growth rate -1.81 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Barbados?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Barbados was 26.2% in 2023, 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 Barbados?
- The highest recorded value was 26.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Barbados?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.7% in 1981.
- How does Barbados rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Barbados ranks 59th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Barbados?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Barbados 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.