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Data for 1997

Tax Revenue (% of GDP), 1997

1997, as OECD’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Tax revenue as a share of GDP is how much of a country’s economy its governments collect in taxes — national, regional and local, social security contributions included. It is the OECD’s standard measure of a state’s tax take, compiled under one classification of taxes so that a country in Africa, Latin America or Asia can be read against an OECD member.

Tax Revenue (% of GDP), 1997 covers 82 countries on 7 measures. Sweden is highest, at 47.64; Indonesia is lowest, at 7.60. The middle country reads 20.38. Against 1996, 80 values changed (54 up, 26 down), 2 countries joined.

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Tax Revenue (% of GDP) · Data for 1997

HighestSweden

47.64

LowestIndonesia

7.60

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end.

01Values only

The table

Every country and every column of Tax Revenue (% of GDP), 1997, as published. The file carries values only, so no position is shown. “=” marks a shared position.

Showing 25 of 82 countries · select a heading to sort

Tax Revenue (% of GDP), 1997: every country, as published by OECD.
SwedenSWENorthern Europe47.6418.74813.3521.47951.805712.2080.04756
DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe46.8329.2750.0880.28311.626515.5410.01433
FinlandFINNorthern Europe44.9617.21512.4260.00001.045514.2190.04966
FranceFRAWestern Europe43.967.94017.6961.19973.116912.2721.73918
BelgiumBELWestern Europe43.8116.73413.9270.00001.923311.2280.00000
AustriaAUTWestern Europe43.6512.34214.8652.80260.579212.7180.34554
ItalyITASouthern Europe41.4714.64413.9440.05352.101210.7270.00000
CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe40.956.22615.1260.00001.155918.4460.00000
NorwayNORNorthern Europe40.3015.4299.1180.00001.085614.6640.00184
HungaryHUNEastern Europe37.668.18312.7430.92520.578614.8060.42702
SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe37.116.93114.8491.13580.625013.5660.00000
NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe36.7410.03513.9990.00001.762710.8090.13120
LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe36.7114.7299.5400.00002.95339.4390.04476
SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe36.308.52814.5770.00000.641112.5530.00000
PolandPOLEastern Europe35.9410.13611.4720.22141.344012.6760.08926
CanadaCANNorthern America35.7917.4834.7650.73443.67008.7440.39528
GermanyDEUWestern Europe35.249.92114.5060.00000.97119.8370.00621
IsraelISRWestern Asia34.2112.1854.9781.51673.313712.2200.00000
New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand33.8920.2630.0000.00001.828111.8020.00000
CubaCUBCaribbean33.804.3884.2202.21680.000021.0121.96524
EstoniaESTNorthern Europe33.559.04011.1120.00000.377213.0230.00066
CzechiaCZEEastern Europe33.207.90514.4680.00000.513910.3070.01100
SpainESPSouthern Europe31.969.34611.2310.00002.00269.3740.00308
LatviaLVANorthern Europe31.577.43110.4690.00001.166712.5020.00000
IrelandIRLNorthern Europe31.3613.2923.8300.34731.520212.3660.00000

02In 1997

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.

Highest

  1. Sweden47.64
  2. Denmark46.83
  3. Finland44.96
  4. France43.96
  5. Belgium43.81

Lowest

  1. Indonesia7.60
  2. Madagascar7.72
  3. Ecuador8.38
  4. Uganda8.54
  5. Bhutan8.55

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 20.38. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

  • Taxes on income, profits and capital gains (% of GDP)

    HighestDenmark29.275

    LowestBahamas0.000

    Middle country: 6.475

  • Social security contributions (% of GDP)

    HighestFrance17.696

    Lowest6 share it

    Middle country: 4.090

  • Taxes on payroll and workforce (% of GDP)

    HighestAustria2.8026

    Lowest56 share it

    Middle country: 0.0000

  • Taxes on property (% of GDP)

    HighestCanada3.6700

    LowestCuba0.0000

    Middle country: 0.6250

  • Taxes on goods and services (% of GDP)

    HighestCuba21.012

    LowestEswatini3.360

    Middle country: 9.588

  • Other taxes (% of GDP)

    HighestTürkiye3.68931

    LowestChile-0.18208

    Middle country: 0.03170

031996 → 1997

Since 1996

  • +2 / −0countries joined / left
  • 80values changed, of 80 in both
  • 54 · 26rose · fell
  • 0unchanged

Rose most

Fell most

+ Indonesia+ Senegal

04Caveats

Read before you use

How values are stored

  • One year of the 2026 release

    Every year in this series comes from OECD’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method, so a change from one year to the next is not a revision. It can differ from what was first published for 1997.

  • 8 empty cells

    An empty cell means the publisher gave no figure. It is never a zero.

05The files

Download and cite

Licence in full

What this site changed: Reshaped to one row per country, with its ISO code; no value recalculated, rescaled or rounded. In full

Licence: OECD Terms and Conditions — data clause · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

OECD (1997). Tax Revenue (% of GDP), 1997 [data set], describing 1997. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/tax-to-gdp/1997

0635 held

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