Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Nepal
Nepal: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 17.7% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Nepal, 1980–2023
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 Nepal stood at 17.7%.
That represents a change of up 1.5% on the previous year and up 32.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Nepal peaked at 22.6% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 5.3%, in 1992.
That places Nepal 111th out of 187 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
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 Nepal, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 5.7% | — |
| 1981 | 6.4% | +13.9% |
| 1982 | 6.4% | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 6.0% | -6.1% |
| 1984 | 5.8% | -4.3% |
| 1985 | 5.6% | -3.7% |
| 1986 | 5.4% | -3.6% |
| 1987 | 5.6% | +4.5% |
| 1988 | 6.1% | +9.2% |
| 1989 | 5.8% | -5.9% |
| 1990 | 5.7% | -0.9% |
| 1991 | 5.4% | -5.4% |
| 1992 | 5.3% | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 5.4% | +2.6% |
| 1994 | 6.3% | +16.1% |
| 1995 | 7.3% | +16.3% |
| 1996 | 7.1% | -3.0% |
| 1997 | 7.1% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 7.1% | -1.0% |
| 1999 | 6.9% | -2.5% |
| 2000 | 7.1% | +3.7% |
| 2001 | 7.7% | +8.2% |
| 2002 | 7.5% | -2.7% |
| 2003 | 7.6% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 7.9% | +3.7% |
| 2005 | 8.0% | +2.3% |
| 2006 | 7.7% | -4.4% |
| 2007 | 8.6% | +11.3% |
| 2008 | 9.2% | +6.8% |
| 2009 | 10.4% | +13.4% |
| 2010 | 11.7% | +13.1% |
| 2011 | 11.6% | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 12.0% | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 13.3% | +10.4% |
| 2014 | 14.0% | +5.2% |
| 2015 | 14.7% | +4.9% |
| 2016 | 16.1% | +9.9% |
| 2017 | 18.0% | +11.5% |
| 2018 | 22.0% | +22.1% |
| 2019 | 18.1% | -17.4% |
| 2020 | 22.4% | +23.3% |
| 2021 | 22.6% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 17.4% | -23.0% |
| 2023 | 17.7% | +1.5% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 17.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 14.9%, 1.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 17.7% is above the median for South Asia, which is 14.8%, 1.2× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5.9% | 5.4% | 6.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.4% | 5.3% | 7.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.2% | 7.1% | 10.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.2% | 11.6% | 22.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.0% | 17.4% | 22.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More poverty & inequality data for Nepal
- 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 1.98 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,344 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 3.91 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 17.67 (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 1.53 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Nepal?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Nepal was 17.7% 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 22.6% in 2021.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.3% in 1992.
- How does Nepal rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Nepal ranks 111th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nepal 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.