Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Kuwait
Kuwait: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 1.2% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Kuwait, 1981–2023
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 Kuwait is 1.2%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 34.4% on the previous year and up 96.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Kuwait peaked at 3.7% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1992.
Kuwait ranks 186th of 187 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 3.7% | — |
| 1982 | 3.4% | -7.1% |
| 1983 | 3.2% | -6.0% |
| 1984 | 3.1% | -3.4% |
| 1985 | 1.9% | -38.1% |
| 1986 | 2.1% | +8.1% |
| 1987 | 1.3% | -39.5% |
| 1988 | 1.2% | -3.0% |
| 1989 | 1.2% | -4.4% |
| 1990 | 1.5% | +30.9% |
| 1991 | 0.3% | -83.4% |
| 1992 | 0.1% | -66.4% |
| 1993 | 1.1% | +1173.2% |
| 1994 | 1.4% | +30.2% |
| 1995 | 1.1% | -19.4% |
| 1996 | 1.0% | -15.8% |
| 1997 | 1.2% | +21.5% |
| 1998 | 1.5% | +27.2% |
| 1999 | 1.3% | -15.2% |
| 2000 | 0.8% | -33.7% |
| 2001 | 0.9% | +3.7% |
| 2002 | 0.9% | +9.2% |
| 2003 | 0.9% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 1.1% | +12.8% |
| 2005 | 1.0% | -8.7% |
| 2006 | 0.8% | -15.4% |
| 2007 | 0.9% | +6.5% |
| 2008 | 0.9% | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 1.1% | +27.3% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | -20.3% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | -22.2% |
| 2012 | 0.6% | -12.7% |
| 2013 | 0.6% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 0.9% | +42.3% |
| 2015 | 1.2% | +34.3% |
| 2016 | 1.5% | +30.4% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | +8.3% |
| 2018 | 1.4% | -12.5% |
| 2019 | 1.6% | +14.2% |
| 2020 | 1.5% | -10.2% |
| 2021 | 1.1% | -24.1% |
| 2022 | 0.9% | -20.5% |
| 2023 | 1.2% | +34.4% |
Kuwait compared with similar countries
- Kuwait's 1.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 4% of the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Kuwait's 1.2% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 8.0%, 15% of the median. (19 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Kuwait changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +1173.2% | 0.1% | 1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.4% | 1.2% | 3.7% | 9 |
| 1990s | 1.0% | 0.1% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
More poverty & inequality data for Kuwait
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.52 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 14,957 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 3.2 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 1.19 (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 34.42 % change on previous year (2023)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.188 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 15.9% (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in women 0.0736 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Kuwait?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Kuwait was 1.2% 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 Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 3.7% in 1981.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1992.
- How does Kuwait rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Kuwait ranks 186th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is up 96.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Kuwait 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 — 43 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.