Korea, Rep.: Taxes on goods and services (% of revenue)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Korea, Rep.'s taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) rose 0.89 percentage points on 2023 (from 16.1% to 16.99%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.63 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.68 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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 4.24 percentage points in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.33 percentage points in 1998. 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 0.67 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 89% 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 15.13% 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 1.26%, against 2.02% 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

In 2024, Korea, Rep. had the 88th highest value of the 91 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 Korea, Rep. in the 2024 ranking

• San Marino — 84th of 91: 18.82%
• Norway — 85th of 91: 18.52%
• United Arab Emirates — 86th of 91: 17.26%
• Canada — 88th of 91: 13.82%
• Angola — 89th of 91: 9.44%
• Naoero — 90th of 91: 2.73%

What this measures

General taxes on goods and services are taxes levied on the production, leasing, delivery, sale, purchase or other change of ownership of a wide range of goods and the provision of a wide range of services. 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 53 values

Taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) in nearby economies

• Australia — 17.79% (2022)
• Cambodia — 42.2% (2023)
• China — 28.26% (2024)
• Fiji — 44.41% (2024)
• Kiribati — 11.75% (2023)
• Lao PDR — 53.89% (2022)
• Macao SAR, China — 76.24% (2024)
• Malaysia — 22.58% (2024)
• Marshall Islands — 8.39% (2020)
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 3.4% (2020)

More public sector data for Korea, Rep.

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 222 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 47.77 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 67.92 trillion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.6% (2025)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (current LCU) — 51.22 trillion (2024)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) — 2% (2024)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 33.54 trillion (2024)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 1.31% (2024)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -45.65 trillion (2024)

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 Korea, Rep.'s taxes on goods and services (% of revenue)?

16.99% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1972?

It is down 24.86 percentage points from 41.85% in 1972. The highest value was 48.65% in 1975 and the lowest 16.1% in 2023.

How does Korea, Rep. rank?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.TAX.GSRV.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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