Belize: Tax revenue (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Belize's tax revenue (current LCU) rose 4.6% on 2016 (from 924.67 million to 967.44 million).

Across the 26 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2016), the average change was +6.7% and a typical year strayed about 5.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below 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 16.3% in 2000 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.1% in 1999. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is upward, about 43.84 million a year. A straight line explains 97% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 1.06 billion for 2020. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2015 to 2017 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 40.79 million, against 69.4 million for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

Closest to Belize in the 2017 ranking

• Afghanistan — 1st of 4: 127.24 billion
• St. Lucia — 2nd of 4: 983.42 million
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 4th of 4: 542.37 million

What this measures

Taxes are compulsory, unrequited payments, in cash or in kind, made by institutional units to government units. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

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).

All 28 values

Tax revenue (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 60.9 trillion (2024)
• Bahamas, The — 2.74 billion (2024)
• Barbados — 2.66 billion (2016)
• Brazil — 1.82 trillion (2024)
• Chile — 56.74 trillion (2024)
• Colombia — 260.77 trillion (2024)
• Costa Rica — 6.71 trillion (2024)
• Dominican Republic — 1.09 trillion (2024)
• Ecuador — 15.2 billion (2022)
• El Salvador — 7.6 billion (2024)
• Guatemala — 102.16 billion (2024)
• Honduras

More public sector data for Belize

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 33.32 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 66.63 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 2,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 1.32% (2020)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 148.91 million (2017)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 3.29% (2017)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -52.73 million (2017)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -1.16% (2017)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Belize's tax revenue (current LCU)?

967.44 million in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 447.09% from 176.84 million in 1990 (6.5% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 967.44 million in 2017 and the lowest 176.84 million in 1990.

Is the latest change in tax revenue (current LCU) unusual for Belize?

In 2017, Belize's tax revenue (current LCU) rose 4.6% on 2016 (from 924.67 million to 967.44 million). Across the 26 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2016), the average change was +6.7% and a typical year strayed about 5.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below 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.CN, 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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