Bahrain: Tax revenue (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Bahrain's tax revenue (% of GDP) fell 0.06 percentage points on 2019 (from 2.88% to 2.82%).

Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2019), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.74 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.79 percentage points in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.05 percentage points in 2005. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.17 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 43% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2020, Bahrain had the 11th highest value of the 10 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Bahrain in the 2020 ranking

• Bhutan — 7th of 10: 12.28%
• Mali — 8th of 10: 11.95%
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 9th of 10: 7.03%

What this measures

Taxes are compulsory, unrequited payments, in cash or in kind, made by institutional units to government units. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 31 values

Tax revenue (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 9.9% (2017)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 12.52% (2015)
• Israel — 23.24% (2024)
• Jordan — 15.52% (2023)
• Lebanon — 11.14% (2024)
• Malta — 24.08% (2024)
• Morocco — 22.68% (2024)
• Saudi Arabia — 8.09% (2024)
• United Arab Emirates — 0.65% (2024)

More public sector data for Bahrain

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 1.47 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 552.03 million (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 30 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 3.11% (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 10.8% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 19,000 (2020)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (current LCU) — 1.14 billion (2020)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) — 8.49% (2020)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 235.05 million (2020)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Bahrain's tax revenue (% of GDP)?

2.82% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 1.74 percentage points from 4.56% in 1990. The highest value was 4.98% in 1998 and the lowest 0.79% in 2014.

How does Bahrain rank?

11th highest of 10 economies with data for 2020.

Is the latest change in tax revenue (% of GDP) unusual for Bahrain?

In 2020, Bahrain's tax revenue (% of GDP) fell 0.06 percentage points on 2019 (from 2.88% to 2.82%). Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2019), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.74 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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