Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Japan
Japan: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 34.9% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Japan, 1980–2022
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Japan recorded 34.9% for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in 2022. That is the highest value across all 43 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.6% on the previous year and up 25.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Japan peaked at 34.9% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 24.2%, in 2003.
Japan ranks 25th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 43 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Japan, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 24.4% | — |
| 1981 | 24.9% | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 25.1% | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 25.6% | +1.7% |
| 1984 | 25.9% | +1.4% |
| 1985 | 26.3% | +1.6% |
| 1986 | 26.9% | +2.3% |
| 1987 | 28.1% | +4.5% |
| 1988 | 28.5% | +1.3% |
| 1989 | 28.8% | +1.1% |
| 1990 | 28.4% | -1.6% |
| 1991 | 27.6% | -2.8% |
| 1992 | 25.9% | -6.0% |
| 1993 | 25.9% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 25.1% | -3.1% |
| 1995 | 25.6% | +2.1% |
| 1996 | 25.5% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 25.7% | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 25.2% | -2.0% |
| 1999 | 24.9% | -1.0% |
| 2000 | 25.4% | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 25.3% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 24.5% | -3.4% |
| 2003 | 24.2% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 24.8% | +2.2% |
| 2005 | 25.9% | +4.6% |
| 2006 | 26.7% | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 27.1% | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 26.5% | -2.5% |
| 2009 | 25.8% | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 26.2% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 27.3% | +4.1% |
| 2012 | 27.9% | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 28.8% | +3.2% |
| 2014 | 30.2% | +5.1% |
| 2015 | 30.4% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 30.3% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 31.1% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 31.5% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 31.4% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 32.9% | +4.5% |
| 2021 | 34.0% | +3.4% |
| 2022 | 34.9% | +2.6% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 34.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 1.2× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Japan's 34.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 18.1%, 1.9× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 26.5% | 24.4% | 28.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 26.0% | 24.9% | 28.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.6% | 24.2% | 27.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.5% | 26.2% | 31.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.9% | 32.9% | 34.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More poverty & inequality data for Japan
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 5 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 1.21 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 6,245 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 -1.18 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 34.86 (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, annual growth rate 2.58 % change on previous year (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Japan?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Japan was 34.9% in 2022, 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 34.9% in 2022.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.2% in 2003.
- How does Japan rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Japan ranks 25th out of 187 countries with data for 2022.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan 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.