Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Lesotho
Lesotho: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 30.4% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Lesotho, 1982–2022
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 30.4% for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in 2022.
That represents a change of down 3.5% on the previous year and down 39.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Lesotho peaked at 60.9% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 28.0%, in 1982.
Lesotho ranks 40th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 41 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 28.0% | — |
| 1983 | 33.8% | +20.6% |
| 1984 | 36.7% | +8.7% |
| 1985 | 33.8% | -8.1% |
| 1986 | 30.8% | -8.9% |
| 1987 | 29.7% | -3.5% |
| 1988 | 29.1% | -2.0% |
| 1989 | 32.7% | +12.4% |
| 1990 | 33.9% | +3.9% |
| 1991 | 34.2% | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 35.8% | +4.9% |
| 1993 | 38.9% | +8.5% |
| 1994 | 39.1% | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 37.8% | -3.3% |
| 1996 | 37.0% | -2.1% |
| 1997 | 37.7% | +1.9% |
| 1998 | 32.2% | -14.5% |
| 1999 | 32.9% | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 30.3% | -8.1% |
| 2001 | 32.2% | +6.6% |
| 2002 | 30.9% | -4.0% |
| 2003 | 32.5% | +5.1% |
| 2004 | 37.3% | +14.6% |
| 2005 | 36.3% | -2.6% |
| 2006 | 48.8% | +34.4% |
| 2007 | 51.1% | +4.7% |
| 2008 | 54.0% | +5.8% |
| 2009 | 60.9% | +12.8% |
| 2010 | 38.4% | -37.0% |
| 2011 | 36.8% | -4.2% |
| 2012 | 50.4% | +37.0% |
| 2013 | 47.2% | -6.4% |
| 2014 | 46.8% | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 33.5% | -28.4% |
| 2016 | 29.4% | -12.3% |
| 2017 | 32.2% | +9.6% |
| 2018 | 31.6% | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 32.7% | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 35.5% | +8.6% |
| 2021 | 31.5% | -11.3% |
| 2022 | 30.4% | -3.5% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 30.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 14.9%, 2.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 30.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 13.5%, 2.2× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 31.8% | 28.0% | 36.7% | 8 |
| 1990s | 35.9% | 32.2% | 39.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 41.4% | 30.3% | 60.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.9% | 29.4% | 50.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.5% | 30.4% | 35.5% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More poverty & inequality data for Lesotho
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 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 2.69 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 804.1 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 10.32 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 30.43 (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 -3.46 % change on previous year (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Lesotho?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Lesotho was 30.4% 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 Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 60.9% in 2009.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.0% in 1982.
- How does Lesotho rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Lesotho ranks 40th out of 187 countries with data for 2022.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho 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.