Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 30.0% in 2023. ▬ Flat
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Bulgaria, 1995–2023
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 Bulgaria is 30.0%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 2.9% on the previous year and up 7.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Bulgaria peaked at 34.0% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 20.3%, in 1995.
That places Bulgaria 42nd out of 187 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 20.3% | — |
| 1996 | 21.6% | +6.4% |
| 1997 | 29.3% | +35.4% |
| 1998 | 30.6% | +4.6% |
| 1999 | 33.3% | +8.7% |
| 2000 | 34.0% | +2.3% |
| 2001 | 32.7% | -4.1% |
| 2002 | 30.5% | -6.5% |
| 2003 | 30.7% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 31.4% | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 30.8% | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 30.5% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 30.3% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 30.3% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 26.5% | -12.4% |
| 2010 | 25.3% | -4.9% |
| 2011 | 25.3% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 25.9% | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 28.0% | +7.8% |
| 2014 | 28.2% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 28.7% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 29.0% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 29.7% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 29.5% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 30.2% | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 30.3% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 30.5% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 30.9% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 30.0% | -2.9% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 30.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 1.0× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 30.0% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 33.9%, 88% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Bulgaria 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +35.4% | 21.6% | 29.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27.0% | 20.3% | 33.3% | 5 |
| 2000s | 30.8% | 26.5% | 34.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.0% | 25.3% | 30.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.4% | 30.0% | 30.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More poverty & inequality data for Bulgaria
- 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 1.75 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 5,224 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 1.41 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 29.97 (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 -2.95 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Bulgaria?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Bulgaria was 30.0% 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 Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 34.0% in 2000.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.3% in 1995.
- How does Bulgaria rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Bulgaria ranks 42nd out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Bulgaria 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.