Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Switzerland
Switzerland: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 26.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Switzerland, 1981–2023
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 Switzerland is 26.8%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 1.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Switzerland peaked at 28.0% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 22.7%, in 1981.
Switzerland ranks 56th of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 43 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 22.7% | — |
| 1982 | 23.0% | +1.4% |
| 1983 | 23.5% | +2.2% |
| 1984 | 23.7% | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 23.1% | -2.2% |
| 1986 | 24.1% | +4.1% |
| 1987 | 23.8% | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 24.1% | +1.1% |
| 1989 | 23.4% | -3.0% |
| 1990 | 22.8% | -2.2% |
| 1991 | 22.7% | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 23.2% | +2.0% |
| 1993 | 23.7% | +2.1% |
| 1994 | 24.0% | +1.6% |
| 1995 | 25.2% | +5.0% |
| 1996 | 25.7% | +1.8% |
| 1997 | 25.4% | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 26.2% | +3.0% |
| 1999 | 26.4% | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 27.3% | +3.3% |
| 2001 | 26.6% | -2.5% |
| 2002 | 27.2% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 26.5% | -2.5% |
| 2004 | 26.2% | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 26.2% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 25.9% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 25.8% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 26.2% | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 26.6% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 26.1% | -1.8% |
| 2011 | 26.4% | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 26.3% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 26.5% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 26.2% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 27.0% | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 26.9% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 27.7% | +2.8% |
| 2018 | 27.2% | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 27.6% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 27.9% | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 28.0% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 26.6% | -5.0% |
| 2023 | 26.8% | +0.8% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 26.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 90% of the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 26.8% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 33.9%, 79% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 23.5% | 22.7% | 24.1% | 9 |
| 1990s | 24.5% | 22.7% | 26.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 26.4% | 25.8% | 27.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.8% | 26.1% | 27.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.3% | 26.6% | 28.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
- 53 Seychelles 27.2% compare
- 54 Namibia 27.0% compare
- 55 South Korea 26.9% compare
- 57 Samoa 26.4% compare
- 58 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 26.2% compare
- 59 Barbados 26.2% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Switzerland
- 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 1.43 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 5,706 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 -6.17 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 26.79 (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 0.7899 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Switzerland?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Switzerland was 26.8% 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 Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 28.0% in 2021.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.7% in 1981.
- How does Switzerland rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Switzerland ranks 56th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Switzerland 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 — 43 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.