Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Uruguay
Uruguay: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 25.9% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Uruguay, 1980–2021
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 Uruguay is 25.9%, measured in 2021.
The figure is down 8.6% on the previous year and up 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Uruguay peaked at 31.4% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 16.0%, in 1984.
Uruguay ranks 60th of 187 countries on this measure, 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 Uruguay, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 18.4% | — |
| 1981 | 18.5% | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 16.5% | -11.0% |
| 1983 | 17.5% | +6.3% |
| 1984 | 16.0% | -8.6% |
| 1985 | 18.8% | +17.6% |
| 1986 | 21.0% | +11.5% |
| 1987 | 19.3% | -8.2% |
| 1988 | 20.1% | +4.2% |
| 1989 | 19.9% | -1.2% |
| 1990 | 18.1% | -9.0% |
| 1991 | 19.0% | +5.2% |
| 1992 | 20.1% | +5.9% |
| 1993 | 22.0% | +9.1% |
| 1994 | 21.2% | -3.6% |
| 1995 | 19.9% | -6.0% |
| 1996 | 20.9% | +5.0% |
| 1997 | 23.4% | +12.1% |
| 1998 | 23.3% | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 20.8% | -10.8% |
| 2000 | 20.1% | -3.6% |
| 2001 | 19.9% | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 19.6% | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 20.2% | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 20.8% | +2.8% |
| 2005 | 21.3% | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 22.6% | +5.7% |
| 2007 | 21.9% | -2.8% |
| 2008 | 22.1% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 25.1% | +13.8% |
| 2010 | 25.5% | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 25.9% | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 26.1% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 26.7% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 26.6% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 26.5% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 31.4% | +18.6% |
| 2017 | 27.9% | -11.0% |
| 2018 | 28.2% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 27.8% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 28.3% | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 25.9% | -8.6% |
Uruguay compared with similar countries
- Uruguay's 25.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 29.8%, 87% of the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Uruguay's 25.9% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 19.6%, 1.3× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 18.6% | 16.0% | 21.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 20.9% | 18.1% | 23.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.4% | 19.6% | 25.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.2% | 25.5% | 31.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.1% | 25.9% | 28.3% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Uruguay
More poverty & inequality data for Uruguay
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 9 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 1.41 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 5,058 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 10.1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 25.88 (2021)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2021)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, annual growth rate -8.58 % change on previous year (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Uruguay?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Uruguay was 25.9% in 2021, 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 Uruguay?
- The highest recorded value was 31.4% in 2016.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Uruguay?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.0% in 1984.
- How does Uruguay rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Uruguay ranks 60th out of 187 countries with data for 2021.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Uruguay?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uruguay 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.