Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in South Korea
South Korea: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 26.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in South Korea, 1980–2023
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 26.9% for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in 2023.
The figure is down 9.7% on the previous year and up 21.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in South Korea peaked at 29.7% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 14.7%, in 1986.
That places South Korea 55th out of 187 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
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 South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 16.2% | — |
| 1981 | 16.1% | -1.0% |
| 1982 | 16.3% | +1.1% |
| 1983 | 16.4% | +1.2% |
| 1984 | 15.5% | -6.0% |
| 1985 | 15.1% | -2.5% |
| 1986 | 14.7% | -2.5% |
| 1987 | 14.9% | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 14.8% | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 15.5% | +4.8% |
| 1990 | 17.9% | +15.4% |
| 1991 | 17.6% | -1.7% |
| 1992 | 17.5% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 17.8% | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 17.9% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 18.1% | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 18.7% | +3.2% |
| 1997 | 18.3% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 18.3% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 18.6% | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 20.2% | +8.7% |
| 2001 | 20.5% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 20.6% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 21.2% | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 20.4% | -3.8% |
| 2005 | 20.8% | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 21.8% | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 22.8% | +4.7% |
| 2008 | 22.6% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 21.8% | -3.6% |
| 2010 | 21.5% | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 22.2% | +3.5% |
| 2012 | 22.7% | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 22.1% | -2.5% |
| 2014 | 22.3% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 22.6% | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 23.5% | +4.0% |
| 2017 | 24.1% | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 25.2% | +4.9% |
| 2019 | 25.7% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 26.2% | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 27.9% | +6.5% |
| 2022 | 29.7% | +6.8% |
| 2023 | 26.9% | -9.7% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 26.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 90% of the median. (65 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 26.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 18.1%, 1.5× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 15.6% | 14.7% | 16.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.1% | 17.5% | 18.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.3% | 20.2% | 22.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.2% | 21.5% | 25.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.7% | 26.2% | 29.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 52 Romania 27.5% compare
- 53 Seychelles 27.2% compare
- 54 Namibia 27.0% compare
- 56 Switzerland 26.8% compare
- 57 Samoa 26.4% compare
- 58 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 26.2% compare
More poverty & inequality data for South Korea
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 6 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 0.72 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 6,615 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 0.0454 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 26.87 (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 -9.65 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in South Korea?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in South Korea was 26.9% 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 29.7% in 2022.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.7% in 1986.
- How does South Korea rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- South Korea ranks 55th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea 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.