Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in France
France: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 43.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in France, 1980–2023
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
France recorded 43.8% for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in 2023.
That represents a change of down 4.3% on the previous year and down 3.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in France peaked at 46.2% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 39.9%, in 1980.
That places France 1st out of 187 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 44 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in France, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 39.9% | — |
| 1981 | 40.0% | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 40.9% | +2.1% |
| 1983 | 41.4% | +1.2% |
| 1984 | 42.4% | +2.4% |
| 1985 | 42.5% | +0.3% |
| 1986 | 42.1% | -1.0% |
| 1987 | 42.6% | +1.3% |
| 1988 | 41.8% | -2.0% |
| 1989 | 41.5% | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 41.5% | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 41.9% | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 41.9% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 43.0% | +2.6% |
| 1994 | 43.1% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 42.7% | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 43.8% | +2.7% |
| 1997 | 44.0% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 43.8% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 44.5% | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 43.7% | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 43.5% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 42.9% | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 42.7% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 42.8% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 43.1% | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 43.5% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 42.9% | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 42.7% | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 42.1% | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 42.2% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 43.3% | +2.6% |
| 2012 | 44.5% | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 45.3% | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 45.4% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 45.4% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 45.4% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 46.2% | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 46.0% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 45.0% | -2.2% |
| 2020 | 45.2% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 45.1% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 45.8% | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 43.8% | -4.3% |
France compared with similar countries
- France's 43.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 1.5× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- France's 43.8% 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 | 41.5% | 39.9% | 42.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 43.0% | 41.5% | 44.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 43.0% | 42.1% | 43.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 44.9% | 42.2% | 46.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 45.0% | 43.8% | 45.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near France
More poverty & inequality data for France
- 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 1.64 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 6,281 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 -13.65 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 43.81 (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 -4.28 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in France?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in France was 43.8% 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 France?
- The highest recorded value was 46.2% in 2017.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.9% in 1980.
- How does France rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- France ranks 1st out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France 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.