Tax revenue as share of GDP in Korea
Korea: Tax revenue as share of GDP was 26.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
26.9%
Change on year
down 9.7%
World rank
55th
of 192 countries
All-time high
29.7%
in 2022
All-time low
14.7%
in 1986
Years of data
44
1980–2023
Tax revenue as share of GDP in Korea, 1980–2023
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, tax revenue as share of gdp in Korea stood at 26.9%.
The figure is down 9.7% on the previous year and up 21.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp in Korea peaked at 29.7% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 14.7%, in 1986.
Korea ranks 55th of 192 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 44 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP in Korea, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 16.2% | — |
| 1981 | 16.1% | -1.0% |
| 1982 | 16.3% | +1.1% |
| 1983 | 16.4% | +1.2% |
| 1984 | 15.5% | -6.0% |
| 1985 | 15.1% | -2.5% |
| 1986 | 14.7% | -2.5% |
| 1987 | 14.9% | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 14.8% | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 15.5% | +4.8% |
| 1990 | 17.9% | +15.4% |
| 1991 | 17.6% | -1.7% |
| 1992 | 17.5% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 17.8% | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 17.9% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 18.1% | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 18.7% | +3.2% |
| 1997 | 18.3% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 18.3% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 18.6% | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 20.2% | +8.7% |
| 2001 | 20.5% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 20.6% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 21.2% | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 20.4% | -3.8% |
| 2005 | 20.8% | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 21.8% | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 22.8% | +4.7% |
| 2008 | 22.6% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 21.8% | -3.6% |
| 2010 | 21.5% | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 22.2% | +3.5% |
| 2012 | 22.7% | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 22.1% | -2.5% |
| 2014 | 22.3% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 22.6% | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 23.5% | +4.0% |
| 2017 | 24.1% | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 25.2% | +4.9% |
| 2019 | 25.7% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 26.2% | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 27.9% | +6.5% |
| 2022 | 29.7% | +6.8% |
| 2023 | 26.9% | -9.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 15.6% | 14.7% | 16.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.1% | 17.5% | 18.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.3% | 20.2% | 22.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.2% | 21.5% | 25.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.7% | 26.2% | 29.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Korea
- 52 Romania 27.5% compare
- 53 Seychelles 27.2% compare
- 54 Namibia 27.0% compare
- 56 Switzerland 26.8% compare
- 57 Samoa 26.4% compare
- 58 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 26.2% compare
More economy & growth data for Korea
- Total reserves minus gold (current US$), annual growth rate 3.04 % change on previous year (2025)
- Total reserves minus gold (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2253 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Total reserves minus gold (current US$), per capita 8,163 current US$ per person (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) 0.7703 % change on previous year (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (current US$), per 0.1765 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (current US$), per 6,393 current US$ per person (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) 5.14 % change on previous year (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU), per 251.03 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU), per 9.09 million current LCU per person (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) 2.96 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp in Korea?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp in Korea was 26.9% in 2023, according to UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest tax revenue as share of gdp recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 29.7% in 2022.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.7% in 1986.
- How does Korea rank for tax revenue as share of gdp?
- Korea ranks 55th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Tax revenue as share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 44 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Direct and indirect taxes as well as social contributions included.