Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Palau
Palau: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 18.1% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Palau, 1993–2020
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 Palau is 18.1%, measured in 2020.
The figure is down 1.5% on the previous year and up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Palau peaked at 21.0% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 13.5%, in 2002.
That places Palau 108th out of 187 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Palau, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 14.8% | — |
| 1994 | 15.1% | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 14.1% | -7.1% |
| 1996 | 14.5% | +3.0% |
| 1997 | 14.9% | +2.9% |
| 1998 | 16.3% | +9.3% |
| 1999 | 16.7% | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 15.3% | -8.7% |
| 2001 | 15.2% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 13.5% | -10.8% |
| 2003 | 14.6% | +8.3% |
| 2004 | 15.7% | +7.4% |
| 2005 | 16.2% | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 15.4% | -4.9% |
| 2007 | 15.2% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 16.5% | +8.5% |
| 2009 | 15.9% | -3.7% |
| 2010 | 16.9% | +6.6% |
| 2011 | 18.1% | +7.3% |
| 2012 | 18.0% | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 18.3% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 19.3% | +5.2% |
| 2015 | 20.0% | +3.9% |
| 2016 | 19.7% | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 19.6% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 21.0% | +7.0% |
| 2019 | 18.4% | -12.5% |
| 2020 | 18.1% | -1.5% |
Palau compared with similar countries
- Palau's 18.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 61% of the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Palau's 18.1% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 18.1%, 100% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.2% | 14.1% | 16.7% | 7 |
| 2000s | 15.3% | 13.5% | 16.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.9% | 16.9% | 21.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.1% | 18.1% | 18.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Palau
More poverty & inequality data for Palau
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.91 live births per woman (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 18.08 (2020)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2020)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, annual growth rate -1.54 % change on previous year (2020)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in women 0.1323 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex 0.1323 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in men 0.145 (2023)
- Income inequality: Atkinson index 0.4092 (2023)
- Population living in slums 0.6% (2022)
- Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index 0.616 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Palau?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Palau was 18.1% in 2020, 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 Palau?
- The highest recorded value was 21.0% in 2018.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Palau?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.5% in 2002.
- How does Palau rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Palau ranks 108th out of 187 countries with data for 2020.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Palau?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Palau 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 — 28 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.