Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Bhutan
Bhutan: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 12.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Bhutan, 1983–2023
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Bhutan stood at 12.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 12.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Bhutan peaked at 16.3% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 4.5%, in 1990.
That places Bhutan 142nd out of 187 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 38 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 4.7% | — |
| 1984 | 5.5% | +17.8% |
| 1985 | 6.4% | +17.1% |
| 1986 | 5.6% | -12.4% |
| 1987 | 5.6% | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 6.2% | +10.4% |
| 1989 | 5.3% | -15.3% |
| 1990 | 4.5% | -14.2% |
| 1991 | 4.9% | +8.1% |
| 1992 | 5.1% | +4.5% |
| 1993 | 6.2% | +21.4% |
| 1994 | 6.1% | -1.8% |
| 1995 | 6.7% | +10.4% |
| 1996 | 7.6% | +13.2% |
| 1997 | 6.7% | -11.8% |
| 1998 | 8.2% | +21.7% |
| 1999 | 7.1% | -12.7% |
| 2000 | 10.0% | +40.1% |
| 2001 | 8.7% | -12.6% |
| 2002 | 9.5% | +9.4% |
| 2003 | 9.4% | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 7.7% | -18.5% |
| 2005 | 8.6% | +11.4% |
| 2006 | 9.2% | +7.7% |
| 2007 | 8.0% | -13.6% |
| 2008 | 8.5% | +7.3% |
| 2009 | 9.4% | +10.1% |
| 2010 | 13.6% | +44.1% |
| 2011 | 13.8% | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 14.8% | +7.4% |
| 2013 | 14.1% | -4.9% |
| 2014 | 13.4% | -4.5% |
| 2015 | 13.1% | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 12.9% | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 12.4% | -3.8% |
| 2018 | 16.3% | +30.9% |
| 2019 | 15.3% | -6.4% |
| 2023 | 12.4% | -18.8% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's 12.4% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 14.9%, 83% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's 12.4% is below the median for South Asia, which is 14.8%, 83% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5.6% | 4.7% | 6.4% | 7 |
| 1990s | 6.3% | 4.5% | 8.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.9% | 7.7% | 10.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.0% | 12.4% | 16.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.4% | 12.4% | 12.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More poverty & inequality data for Bhutan
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 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 1.46 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,552 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 2.62 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 12.38 (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 -6.41 % change on previous year (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Bhutan?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Bhutan was 12.4% 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 Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 16.3% in 2018.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.5% in 1990.
- How does Bhutan rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Bhutan ranks 142nd out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan 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.