Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in South Africa
South Africa: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 28.1% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in South Africa, 1980–2022
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 28.1% for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in 2022. That is the highest value across all 42 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 11.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in South Africa peaked at 28.1% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 18.5%, in 1981.
That places South Africa 48th out of 187 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 19.2% | — |
| 1981 | 18.5% | -3.7% |
| 1982 | 19.6% | +6.1% |
| 1983 | 19.6% | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 20.6% | +5.0% |
| 1985 | 22.3% | +8.0% |
| 1986 | 21.6% | -2.7% |
| 1987 | 21.4% | -1.3% |
| 1988 | 22.2% | +4.0% |
| 1989 | 24.7% | +11.1% |
| 1990 | 22.9% | -7.4% |
| 1991 | 22.8% | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 20.7% | -9.2% |
| 1993 | 21.7% | +5.0% |
| 1994 | 21.8% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 22.0% | +0.9% |
| 1996 | 22.4% | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 23.4% | +4.1% |
| 1998 | 24.2% | +3.4% |
| 1999 | 23.9% | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 23.2% | -3.0% |
| 2001 | 23.6% | +1.6% |
| 2002 | 22.8% | -3.4% |
| 2004 | 23.7% | +4.0% |
| 2005 | 25.0% | +5.5% |
| 2006 | 26.0% | +4.2% |
| 2007 | 26.5% | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 25.9% | -2.3% |
| 2009 | 23.6% | -8.9% |
| 2010 | 24.3% | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 24.6% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 25.2% | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 25.7% | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 26.4% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 27.0% | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 26.8% | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 26.7% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 27.0% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 27.0% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 25.4% | -5.8% |
| 2021 | 27.9% | +9.8% |
| 2022 | 28.1% | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 21.0% | 18.5% | 24.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.6% | 20.7% | 24.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 24.5% | 22.8% | 26.5% | 9 |
| 2010s | 26.1% | 24.3% | 27.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.1% | 25.4% | 28.1% | 3 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More poverty & inequality data for South Africa
- 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 2.22 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 4,562 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -20.01 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 28.13 (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 0.8444 % change on previous year (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in South Africa?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in South Africa was 28.1% 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 28.1% in 2022.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.5% in 1981.
- How does South Africa rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- South Africa ranks 48th out of 187 countries with data for 2022.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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.