Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Germany
Germany: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 37.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Germany, 1980–2023
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 Germany stood at 37.5%.
The figure is down 3.6% on the previous year and up 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Germany peaked at 39.1% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 34.1%, in 2004.
That places Germany 14th 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 Germany, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 36.1% | — |
| 1981 | 35.7% | -1.2% |
| 1982 | 35.5% | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 35.3% | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 35.5% | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 35.9% | +1.1% |
| 1986 | 35.5% | -1.1% |
| 1987 | 35.7% | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 35.5% | -0.8% |
| 1989 | 35.9% | +1.3% |
| 1990 | 34.4% | -4.2% |
| 1991 | 34.7% | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 35.6% | +2.4% |
| 1993 | 35.6% | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 36.0% | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 36.2% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 35.5% | -1.9% |
| 1997 | 35.2% | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 35.4% | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 35.9% | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 36.0% | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 34.8% | -3.5% |
| 2002 | 34.2% | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 34.3% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 34.1% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 34.1% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 34.6% | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 35.1% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 35.6% | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 36.4% | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 35.2% | -3.4% |
| 2011 | 35.9% | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 36.6% | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 36.9% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 36.9% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 37.3% | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 37.8% | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 37.8% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 38.4% | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 38.7% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 38.1% | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 39.1% | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 38.9% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 37.5% | -3.6% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 37.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 1.3× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Germany's 37.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 33.9%, 1.1× the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 35.6% | 35.3% | 36.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 35.5% | 34.4% | 36.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 34.9% | 34.1% | 36.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.1% | 35.2% | 38.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 38.4% | 37.5% | 39.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Germany
- 11 Netherlands 38.5% compare
- 12 Serbia 38.4% compare
- 13 Croatia 38.0% compare
- 15 Bosnia and Herzegovina 37.1% compare
- 16 Montenegro 36.8% compare
- 17 Spain 36.4% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Germany
- 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 1.44 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 7,007 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 -1.67 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 37.48 (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 -3.58 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Germany?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Germany was 37.5% 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 Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 39.1% in 2021.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.1% in 2004.
- How does Germany rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Germany ranks 14th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Germany 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 — 44 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.