Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in China
China: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 22.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in China, 2005–2023
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 China stood at 22.1%.
The figure is up 4.2% on the previous year and down 9.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in China peaked at 24.8% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 18.3%, in 2005.
China ranks 76th of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in China, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 18.3% | — |
| 2006 | 21.9% | +19.3% |
| 2007 | 20.3% | -7.1% |
| 2008 | 21.8% | +7.1% |
| 2009 | 22.1% | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 22.6% | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 23.8% | +5.3% |
| 2012 | 24.3% | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 24.4% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 24.4% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 24.3% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 23.8% | -2.3% |
| 2017 | 24.0% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 24.8% | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 23.3% | -5.9% |
| 2020 | 21.1% | -9.7% |
| 2021 | 22.3% | +6.0% |
| 2022 | 21.2% | -5.0% |
| 2023 | 22.1% | +4.2% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 22.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 21.9%, 1.0× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- China's 22.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 18.1%, 1.2× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 20.9% | 18.3% | 22.1% | 5 |
| 2010s | 24.0% | 22.6% | 24.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.7% | 21.1% | 22.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near China
More poverty & inequality data for China
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 7 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 0.999 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 6,418 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 0.5767 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 22.1 (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 4.15 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in China?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in China was 22.1% 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was 24.8% in 2018.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.3% in 2005.
- How does China rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- China ranks 76th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China 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
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.