Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 34.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in United Kingdom, 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 United Kingdom stood at 34.9%.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and up 9.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in United Kingdom peaked at 35.1% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 27.5%, in 1993.
United Kingdom ranks 24th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top 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 United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 31.2% | — |
| 1981 | 32.0% | +2.5% |
| 1982 | 33.9% | +5.8% |
| 1983 | 32.3% | -4.8% |
| 1984 | 32.3% | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 32.2% | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 32.6% | +1.2% |
| 1987 | 31.2% | -4.4% |
| 1988 | 31.1% | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 30.4% | -2.3% |
| 1990 | 30.2% | -0.8% |
| 1991 | 29.1% | -3.6% |
| 1992 | 28.4% | -2.3% |
| 1993 | 27.5% | -3.3% |
| 1994 | 28.1% | +2.4% |
| 1995 | 29.3% | +4.2% |
| 1996 | 29.1% | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 29.8% | +2.5% |
| 1998 | 31.3% | +4.8% |
| 1999 | 31.9% | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 32.7% | +2.5% |
| 2001 | 32.2% | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 31.4% | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 31.2% | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 32.1% | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 32.5% | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 32.8% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 33.0% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 32.1% | -2.5% |
| 2009 | 31.1% | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 32.0% | +3.1% |
| 2011 | 32.9% | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 32.1% | -2.2% |
| 2013 | 32.0% | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 31.7% | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 31.9% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 32.5% | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 32.7% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 32.8% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 32.5% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 32.8% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 34.2% | +4.2% |
| 2022 | 35.1% | +2.7% |
| 2023 | 34.9% | -0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 31.9% | 30.4% | 33.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 29.5% | 27.5% | 31.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 32.1% | 31.1% | 33.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.3% | 31.7% | 32.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 34.3% | 32.8% | 35.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More poverty & inequality data for United Kingdom
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 6 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 1.56 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 7,138 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 -7.54 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 34.91 (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 -0.6407 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in United Kingdom?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in United Kingdom was 34.9% 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 35.1% in 2022.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.5% in 1993.
- How does United Kingdom rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- United Kingdom ranks 24th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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.