Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Belgium
Belgium: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 42.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Belgium, 1980–2023
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Belgium recorded 42.6% for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and down 5.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Belgium peaked at 47.2% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 42.1%, in 2021.
That places Belgium 4th out of 187 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Belgium, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 43.6% | — |
| 1981 | 44.0% | +0.9% |
| 1982 | 45.3% | +2.9% |
| 1983 | 46.0% | +1.6% |
| 1984 | 46.7% | +1.5% |
| 1985 | 46.8% | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 46.6% | -0.6% |
| 1987 | 47.2% | +1.4% |
| 1988 | 45.8% | -3.0% |
| 1989 | 43.9% | -4.1% |
| 1990 | 44.4% | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 44.7% | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 44.3% | -0.9% |
| 1993 | 45.9% | +3.6% |
| 1994 | 46.2% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 45.1% | -2.4% |
| 1996 | 45.6% | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 46.1% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 46.7% | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 46.5% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 46.1% | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 46.1% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 46.4% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 45.9% | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 45.9% | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 45.7% | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 45.6% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 45.2% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 46.1% | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 42.7% | -7.4% |
| 2010 | 42.9% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 43.5% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 44.3% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 45.0% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 44.8% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 44.1% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 43.3% | -1.9% |
| 2017 | 43.8% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 43.8% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 42.4% | -3.3% |
| 2020 | 42.2% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 42.1% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 42.4% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 42.6% | +0.5% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 42.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 1.4× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 42.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 33.9%, 1.3× the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 45.6% | 43.6% | 47.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 45.5% | 44.3% | 46.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 45.6% | 42.7% | 46.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 43.8% | 42.4% | 45.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 42.3% | 42.1% | 42.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More poverty & inequality data for Belgium
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 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 1.38 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 8,486 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -1.37 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 42.58 (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 0.4793 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Belgium?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Belgium was 42.6% 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 Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 47.2% in 1987.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.1% in 2021.
- How does Belgium rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Belgium ranks 4th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belgium 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
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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.