Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Spain
Spain: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 36.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Spain, 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 Spain stood at 36.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.2% on the previous year and up 10.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Spain peaked at 37.4% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 22.2%, in 1980.
Spain ranks 17th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 44 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Spain, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 22.2% | — |
| 1981 | 23.0% | +3.8% |
| 1982 | 23.3% | +1.3% |
| 1983 | 25.1% | +7.7% |
| 1984 | 25.6% | +2.0% |
| 1985 | 26.7% | +4.1% |
| 1986 | 28.1% | +5.5% |
| 1987 | 29.9% | +6.4% |
| 1988 | 30.2% | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 31.9% | +5.6% |
| 1990 | 31.7% | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 31.9% | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 32.9% | +3.2% |
| 1993 | 31.7% | -3.6% |
| 1994 | 31.9% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 31.3% | -1.7% |
| 1996 | 31.1% | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 32.0% | +2.7% |
| 1998 | 32.8% | +2.6% |
| 1999 | 33.2% | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 33.1% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 32.8% | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 33.2% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 33.1% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 34.0% | +2.8% |
| 2005 | 35.2% | +3.5% |
| 2006 | 36.0% | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 36.3% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 32.0% | -11.9% |
| 2009 | 29.6% | -7.6% |
| 2010 | 31.2% | +5.3% |
| 2011 | 31.0% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 32.2% | +3.8% |
| 2013 | 32.9% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 33.7% | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 33.5% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 33.3% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 33.6% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 34.4% | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 34.4% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 36.5% | +6.0% |
| 2021 | 37.4% | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 36.8% | -1.5% |
| 2023 | 36.4% | -1.2% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 36.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 1.2× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Spain's 36.4% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 33.9%, 1.1× the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 26.6% | 22.2% | 31.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 32.0% | 31.1% | 33.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 33.5% | 29.6% | 36.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.0% | 31.0% | 34.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.8% | 36.4% | 37.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More poverty & inequality data for Spain
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 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 1.21 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,786 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 72.8 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 36.42 (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 -1.15 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Spain?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Spain was 36.4% 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 Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 37.4% in 2021.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.2% in 1980.
- How does Spain rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Spain ranks 17th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain 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.