Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Malawi
Malawi: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 15.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Malawi, 1983–2023
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Malawi stood at 15.1%. That is the highest value across all 40 years on record.
That represents a change of up 11.5% on the previous year and up 50.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Malawi peaked at 15.1% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3.9%, in 1995.
Malawi ranks 125th of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 40 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 5.9% | — |
| 1984 | 5.7% | -3.2% |
| 1985 | 6.2% | +8.8% |
| 1986 | 7.2% | +15.1% |
| 1987 | 6.8% | -5.1% |
| 1988 | 5.4% | -20.8% |
| 1989 | 6.4% | +18.2% |
| 1990 | 7.3% | +14.9% |
| 1991 | 5.9% | -19.7% |
| 1992 | 6.5% | +9.6% |
| 1993 | 5.1% | -21.6% |
| 1994 | 5.5% | +8.7% |
| 1995 | 3.9% | -29.2% |
| 1996 | 4.5% | +16.0% |
| 1997 | 5.3% | +16.2% |
| 1998 | 6.0% | +15.1% |
| 1999 | 5.4% | -10.9% |
| 2000 | 5.7% | +5.1% |
| 2001 | 6.4% | +12.9% |
| 2002 | 5.4% | -15.5% |
| 2003 | 6.2% | +14.6% |
| 2004 | 6.9% | +11.8% |
| 2005 | 7.3% | +6.0% |
| 2006 | 7.8% | +6.5% |
| 2007 | 7.9% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 10.3% | +29.8% |
| 2010 | 10.9% | +6.3% |
| 2011 | 11.0% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 9.6% | -12.3% |
| 2013 | 10.0% | +4.2% |
| 2014 | 11.3% | +12.8% |
| 2015 | 10.8% | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 10.9% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 12.2% | +12.0% |
| 2018 | 12.2% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 12.0% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 12.1% | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 11.6% | -4.5% |
| 2022 | 13.5% | +16.5% |
| 2023 | 15.1% | +11.5% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 15.1% is above the median for low income countries, which is 9.5%, 1.6× the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 15.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 13.5%, 1.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 6.2% | 5.4% | 7.2% | 7 |
| 1990s | 5.5% | 3.9% | 7.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.1% | 5.4% | 10.3% | 9 |
| 2010s | 11.1% | 9.6% | 12.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.1% | 11.6% | 15.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More poverty & inequality data for Malawi
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 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 3.65 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,857 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 -4.49 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 15.06 (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 11.53 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Malawi?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Malawi was 15.1% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 15.1% in 2023.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.9% in 1995.
- How does Malawi rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Malawi ranks 125th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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.