UK tax revenue compared with other countries
OECD figures put the UK's tax revenue at 34.4% of GDP in 2024, the joint 22nd-highest of the 36 OECD countries with a figure for that year. Denmark had the highest (45.2% of GDP) and Mexico the lowest (18.3% of GDP). The simple average across the 36 was 34.2% of GDP, a difference of 0.2 percentage points from the UK's figure.
No 2024 figure yet for Australia and Japan.
The UK over ten years
Over 2015 to 2024, the UK's highest value was 35.2% of GDP (2022) and its lowest 31.9% of GDP (2015).
The UK's figure was higher than the average in four of the ten years from 2015 to 2024 and lower in six.
In 2015 the UK ranked 23rd of the 38 countries with a figure; in 2024 it ranked 22nd of 36.
One country had a lower figure than the UK in 2015 and a higher one in 2024: Latvia.
One country had a higher figure than the UK in 2015 and a lower one in 2024: Czechia.
How the OECD measures it
The OECD's total tax revenue is every compulsory, unrequited payment to general government, including social security contributions, collected by all levels of government in a calendar year, shown as a share of GDP. It is often called the tax-to-GDP ratio. Fees, charges and other non-tax income are not counted.
Countries compared: The 38 member countries of the OECD. The table uses the latest year for which the UK and at least three-quarters of the countries the OECD covers have a figure, so every value is for the same period.
Why this differs from the UK's own figures
The ONS publishes public sector current receipts, which add non-tax income such as interest, dividends and rent to taxes, and HMRC publishes the cash it collects each month. The Office for Budget Responsibility's tax-to-GDP figure uses national accounts taxes in financial years. The OECD counts taxes and social security contributions only, for calendar years, on the same basis for every member country, so its UK figure differs from all three.
Sources and receipts
Every value on this page was read from these addresses. The SHA-256 is the fingerprint of the file as downloaded, so a later change at the source can be detected.
- https://sdmx.oecd.org/public/rest/data/OECD.CTP.TPS,DSD_REV_COMP_OECD@DF_RSOECD,2.0/.TAX_REV.S13._T._T.PT_B…
OECD, Revenue Statistics: comparative tables · read 2026-10-14 · SHA-256
d13c5d3b336f1be8… - OECD: Revenue Statistics: comparative tablesThe publisher's page for this data, indicator TAX_REV.
Common questions
Where does the UK rank for tax revenue in OECD countries?
Counting from the highest, the UK is 22nd (joint) of 36 with 34.4% of GDP in 2024, on OECD figures.
Which OECD country has the highest tax revenue?
Denmark, at 45.2% of GDP in 2024 (OECD).
Which OECD country has the lowest tax revenue?
Mexico, at 18.3% of GDP in 2024 (OECD).
What is the OECD average tax revenue?
The simple average of the 36 countries with figures for 2024 is 34.2% of GDP. The UK's figure is 34.4% of GDP.
How has the UK's tax revenue changed since 2015?
It was 31.9% of GDP in 2015 and 34.4% of GDP in 2024, according to the OECD.
Is this the same as the UK's official figure?
The ONS publishes public sector current receipts, which add non-tax income such as interest, dividends and rent to taxes, and HMRC publishes the cash it collects each month. The Office for Budget Responsibility's tax-to-GDP figure uses national accounts taxes in financial years.
More comparisons
- UK national debt compared with other countries
- UK GDP per head compared with other countries
- UK government spending compared with other countries
- UK life expectancy compared with other countries
- UK health spending compared with other countries
- UK house prices to income compared with other countries
Compare any two countries on GDP, inflation, unemployment, debt and life expectancy: country comparison tool.
These pages state each body's figures and the UK's position among them. They give no view on whether a figure is high or low. To report an error, send a correction request.