Tax Revenues now Account for 57% of Global Government Income — IMF
Tax revenues have become the dominant source of government income worldwide, accounting for 57 per cent of total revenue, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The finding is contained in the IMF’s World Revenue Longitudinal Database (WoRLD), which tracks government revenue trends from the early 1980s to provide insights into how countries mobilise resources over time.
The database shows that while overall government revenue has remained broadly stable averaging about 30 per cent of GDP since 2000, the composition of that revenue has gradually shifted. Tax revenues have increased modestly by approximately 1.8 percentage points of GDP over the period, reaching 17.5 per cent of GDP in 2024.
This steady rise has reinforced the central role of taxation in public finance, with tax revenues consistently accounting for between 55 and 60 per cent of total government income since the early 2000s. Despite this dominance, non-tax revenues continue to represent a significant share, including income from natural resources, grants, social security contributions and other sources.
The IMF’s World Revenue Longitudinal Database (WoRLD) tracks government revenue trends since the early 1980s.
This invaluable resource offers policymakers, researchers, and the public crucial insights into the evolution of both the level and composition of revenues.
With its consistent and reliable source, IMF surveillance data, computed using the Government Finance Statistics Manual, the database enables cross-country comparisons and longitudinal analysis, making it an essential tool for shaping policies that advance countries’ development goals.
WoRLD tracks directly 9 key components of tax and non-tax revenues, which together contribute more than 80 percent of government revenue globally. The 2026 update expanded country coverage to Aruba and Liechtenstein, and time coverage to 2024. Key insights from the 2026 version of WoRLD include:
• Government total revenue has been broadly stable, averaging about 30 percent of GDP since 2000.
• Tax revenues have increased slightly, by about 1.8 percentage point of GDP since 2000, and stood at 17.5 percent of GDP in 2024.
• Tax revenues are a major component of government revenues and have occupied between 55 and 60 percent of the total since the early 2000s. This also means that a significant share of government revenues is attributable to non-tax sources, such as grants, revenue from natural resources, social security contributions, and a myriad of other non-tax sources.
• Grants, a major source of revenue for low-income developing countries, have declined by 50 percent since the early 2000s, from about 6 percent to 3 percent of GDP.
Notably, the data also point to a sharp decline in grants, particularly for low-income developing countries. Grants, once accounting for about 6 per cent of GDP in the early 2000s, have fallen by half to roughly 3 per cent, underscoring growing pressure on countries to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation.
The 2026 edition of the database further expands its coverage to include Aruba and Liechtenstein, while extending its time series to 2024. WoRLD will be updated annually to reflect evolving fiscal trends and support evidence-based policymaking.
For policymakers in emerging and developing economies such as Ghana, the data reinforce the importance of building resilient tax systems, especially as external funding sources continue to decline.
