Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Ireland
Ireland: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 21.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Ireland, 1980–2023
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 Ireland is 21.9%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 8.1% on the previous year and down 22.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Ireland peaked at 36.6% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 19.4%, in 2020.
That places Ireland 77th out of 187 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 30.6% | — |
| 1981 | 31.7% | +3.5% |
| 1982 | 32.8% | +3.6% |
| 1983 | 34.3% | +4.5% |
| 1984 | 35.1% | +2.5% |
| 1985 | 34.0% | -3.2% |
| 1986 | 34.6% | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 34.8% | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 36.6% | +5.1% |
| 1989 | 33.6% | -8.3% |
| 1990 | 33.2% | -1.1% |
| 1991 | 33.7% | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 34.0% | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 34.1% | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 35.2% | +3.3% |
| 1995 | 31.7% | -9.8% |
| 1996 | 31.9% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 31.4% | -1.7% |
| 1998 | 30.8% | -1.8% |
| 1999 | 30.8% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 32.0% | +3.8% |
| 2001 | 29.9% | -6.7% |
| 2002 | 29.1% | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 29.8% | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 30.9% | +3.6% |
| 2005 | 31.3% | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 32.7% | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 30.8% | -5.8% |
| 2008 | 29.1% | -5.7% |
| 2009 | 28.1% | -3.5% |
| 2010 | 27.7% | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 27.6% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 27.9% | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 28.1% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 27.9% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 22.3% | -19.9% |
| 2016 | 23.0% | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 21.7% | -5.6% |
| 2018 | 21.8% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 21.4% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 19.4% | -9.7% |
| 2021 | 20.0% | +3.5% |
| 2022 | 20.3% | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 21.9% | +8.1% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 21.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 73% of the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 21.9% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 33.9%, 65% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 33.8% | 30.6% | 36.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 32.7% | 30.8% | 35.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 30.4% | 28.1% | 32.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.9% | 21.4% | 28.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.4% | 19.4% | 21.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More poverty & inequality data for Ireland
- 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 1.6 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 7,325 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 3.71 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 21.9 (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 8.11 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Ireland?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Ireland was 21.9% 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 36.6% in 1988.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.4% in 2020.
- How does Ireland rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Ireland ranks 77th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 22.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland 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.