Tax-to-GDP Ratio by Country: 2026 Snapshot Based on OECD 2024 Provisional Data

What the Tax-to-GDP Ratio Measures

The tax-to-GDP ratio compares aggregate tax revenue with the total value of economic output. Under the OECD definition, taxes are compulsory, unrequited payments to general government or a supranational authority. Compulsory social security contributions paid to general government are included.

The ratio provides a standardized measure of the size of tax revenues relative to the economy. It does not show the tax rate faced by a particular household or company. It also does not measure how evenly the tax burden is distributed, how effectively revenue is collected, how efficiently public funds are spent or what services residents receive in return.

OECD Revenue Statistics 2025 reports that the preliminary OECD average reached 34.1% of GDP in 2024, an increase of 0.3 percentage point from 2023. Ratios increased in 22 countries, declined in 13 and remained unchanged in one.

Top 10 OECD Countries by Tax Revenue Share of GDP

Nine countries recorded preliminary tax-to-GDP ratios of at least 40%. Denmark led at 45.2%, while only 0.1 percentage point separated France and Austria in second and third place.

Top 10 confirmed OECD tax-to-GDP ratios, preliminary 2024 values

Countries are sorted by the reported percentage in descending order. Where two countries have the same one-decimal value, alphabetical order determines their sequential display position.

Methodology and Data Limits

The source is OECD Revenue Statistics 2025. The metric is total tax revenue as a percentage of GDP, the reference year is 2024 and the ranking direction is descending. All included observations are official OECD figures identified as preliminary.

The OECD tax definition includes taxes on income and profits, compulsory social security contributions, payroll, property, goods and services, and other taxes covered by the OECD classification. The ratio does not measure statutory tax rates, household tax burdens, corporate effective tax rates, tax incidence, public spending, fiscal balance or service quality.

Complete OECD Ranking and Country Values

The complete table below covers all 36 OECD countries with available preliminary 2024 values.

OECD members ranked by preliminary 2024 tax revenue as a percentage of GDP

All 36 values are preliminary OECD observations for 2024. Australia and Japan are not included because complete preliminary ratios were unavailable.

Key Findings From the OECD Data

How to Interpret the Ranking

A country's position reflects the amount of tax revenue collected relative to GDP. A higher ratio may result from broader tax bases, higher effective collection, larger compulsory social security contributions or a greater public-sector role. The ranking alone cannot identify which factor is responsible.

The ratio should not be treated as a direct measure of tax competitiveness or household burden. Two countries with similar tax-to-GDP ratios can rely on very different combinations of personal income taxes, corporate taxes, social security contributions, consumption taxes and property taxes.

The 2026 label refers to the date of this StatRanker page snapshot. The underlying OECD publication was released in 2025 and reports preliminary results for 2024. The values are historical observations subject to revision, not forecasts for 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources