East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income): Tax revenue (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)'s tax revenue (% of GDP) fell 0.57 percentage points on 2023 (from 8.25% to 7.68%).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2023), the average change was −0.04 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.33 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.6 percentage points in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.57 percentage points in 2024. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.23 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 93% 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 7.09% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.14%, against 0.33% 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.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

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 20 values

Tax revenue (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 9.9% (2017)
• Bahrain — 2.82% (2020)
• 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 East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 2.61 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 379.53 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.65% (2025)
• Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 924 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 5.08% (2024)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 6.76 million (2020)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 17.52% (2023)
• Taxes on international trade (% of revenue)

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 East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)'s tax revenue (% of GDP)?

7.68% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2005?

It is down 1.27 percentage points from 8.95% in 2005. The highest value was 10.57% in 2011 and the lowest 7.68% in 2024.

Is the latest change in tax revenue (% of GDP) unusual for East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)?

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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