High income: Taxes on income, profits and capital gains (% of revenue)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, High income's taxes on income, profits and capital gains (% of revenue) rose 1.43 percentage points on 2023 (from 24.67% to 26.1%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.16 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations above 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 5.57 percentage points in 1991 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.92 percentage points in 1992. 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 upward, about 0.4 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 81% 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 26.6% 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 0.62%, against 1.42% 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 on income, profits, and capital gains are taxes payable on the actual or presumed incomes, profits and capital gains. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.

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 median.

All 51 values

Taxes on income, profits and capital gains (% of revenue) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 4.53% (2017)
• Bahrain — 0.32% (2020)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 24.11% (2015)
• Israel — 35.07% (2024)
• Jordan — 19.28% (2023)
• Lebanon — 7.84% (2024)
• Malta — 41.73% (2024)
• Morocco — 34.73% (2024)
• Saudi Arabia — 2.51% (2024)

More public sector data for High income

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 20.57 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 2.09 trillion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.8% (2025)
• Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 31.27 billion (2025)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 1.59% (2024)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -4.3% (2024)
• Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) — 26.29% (2024)
• Tax revenue (% of GDP) — 15.26% (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 11.74% (2024)
• Expense (% of GDP)

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 High income's taxes on income, profits and capital gains (% of revenue)?

26.1% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1973?

It is up 4.52 percentage points from 21.58% in 1973. The highest value was 26.96% in 1991 and the lowest 19.27% in 1994.

Is the latest change in taxes on income, profits and capital gains (% of revenue) unusual for High income?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.TAX.YPKG.RV.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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