Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Tanzania
Tanzania: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 11.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Tanzania, 1980–2023
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 Tanzania is 11.5%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.7% on the previous year and up 7.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Tanzania peaked at 12.2% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 6.6%, in 1986.
Tanzania ranks 151st of 187 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
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 Tanzania, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 7.6% | — |
| 1981 | 7.6% | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 7.0% | -7.8% |
| 1983 | 7.5% | +7.2% |
| 1984 | 7.8% | +3.4% |
| 1985 | 7.7% | -1.5% |
| 1986 | 6.6% | -13.5% |
| 1987 | 7.3% | +9.8% |
| 1988 | 6.9% | -5.1% |
| 1989 | 8.3% | +19.8% |
| 1990 | 8.1% | -2.6% |
| 1991 | 9.0% | +11.0% |
| 1992 | 9.2% | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 7.0% | -24.2% |
| 1994 | 7.9% | +13.0% |
| 1995 | 8.2% | +3.6% |
| 1996 | 8.4% | +2.6% |
| 1997 | 9.0% | +7.3% |
| 1998 | 7.4% | -17.6% |
| 1999 | 7.0% | -5.3% |
| 2000 | 7.0% | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 7.5% | +7.2% |
| 2002 | 7.4% | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 7.5% | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 7.8% | +3.8% |
| 2005 | 8.0% | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 8.2% | +3.3% |
| 2007 | 9.3% | +13.1% |
| 2008 | 10.1% | +8.5% |
| 2009 | 10.6% | +4.6% |
| 2010 | 10.0% | -5.7% |
| 2011 | 9.9% | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 10.4% | +5.6% |
| 2013 | 10.7% | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 11.4% | +6.0% |
| 2015 | 10.5% | -7.7% |
| 2016 | 11.4% | +8.5% |
| 2017 | 11.7% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 12.2% | +4.3% |
| 2019 | 11.4% | -5.9% |
| 2020 | 12.1% | +5.9% |
| 2021 | 11.3% | -6.9% |
| 2022 | 12.0% | +6.8% |
| 2023 | 11.5% | -4.7% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 11.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 14.9%, 77% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 11.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 13.5%, 85% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 7.4% | 6.6% | 8.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.1% | 7.0% | 9.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.3% | 7.0% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.0% | 9.9% | 12.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.7% | 11.3% | 12.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More poverty & inequality data for Tanzania
- 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 4.61 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,961 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 8.03 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 11.48 (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 -4.73 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Tanzania?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Tanzania was 11.5% 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 Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 12.2% in 2018.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.6% in 1986.
- How does Tanzania rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Tanzania ranks 151st out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tanzania 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 — 44 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.