Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Zambia
Zambia: Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality was 16.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Zambia, 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 Zambia is 16.2%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 15.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Zambia peaked at 22.8% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 12.5%, in 2009.
Zambia ranks 120th of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 42 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 22.8% | — |
| 1981 | 18.3% | -19.7% |
| 1982 | 18.6% | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 18.9% | +1.7% |
| 1984 | 21.4% | +13.2% |
| 1985 | 17.3% | -19.2% |
| 1986 | 19.6% | +13.2% |
| 1987 | 17.7% | -9.6% |
| 1988 | 13.7% | -22.5% |
| 1989 | 16.4% | +19.3% |
| 1990 | 18.2% | +11.2% |
| 1991 | 16.7% | -8.2% |
| 1992 | 16.0% | -4.0% |
| 1993 | 14.0% | -12.5% |
| 1994 | 17.1% | +21.9% |
| 1995 | 16.6% | -3.0% |
| 1996 | 17.3% | +4.2% |
| 1997 | 17.1% | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 16.6% | -2.8% |
| 1999 | 15.9% | -4.5% |
| 2000 | 17.2% | +8.7% |
| 2001 | 16.6% | -3.9% |
| 2002 | 15.4% | -6.8% |
| 2003 | 15.3% | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 15.3% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 14.8% | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 13.7% | -7.3% |
| 2007 | 14.5% | +5.8% |
| 2008 | 14.4% | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 12.5% | -13.2% |
| 2010 | 13.5% | +8.0% |
| 2011 | 15.8% | +17.2% |
| 2012 | 14.7% | -7.1% |
| 2013 | 14.1% | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 15.5% | +9.8% |
| 2015 | 14.4% | -6.8% |
| 2018 | 16.1% | +11.5% |
| 2019 | 16.1% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 15.7% | -2.7% |
| 2021 | 16.1% | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 16.1% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 16.2% | +0.8% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 16.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 14.9%, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 16.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 13.5%, 1.2× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 18.5% | 13.7% | 22.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 16.6% | 14.0% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.0% | 12.5% | 17.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.0% | 13.5% | 16.1% | 8 |
| 2020s | 16.0% | 15.7% | 16.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More poverty & inequality data for Zambia
- 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 4.1 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,344 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 -4.62 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 16.23 (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 0.8488 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Zambia?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality in Zambia was 16.2% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 22.8% in 1980.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.5% in 2009.
- How does Zambia rank for tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality?
- Zambia ranks 120th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp vs. income inequality rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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.