Economy · Tax revenue · South Africa
South Africa’s tax revenue rose to 25.9% of GDP in 2024.
25.9% of GDP
2024
Up 0.48 pp from 2023.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
25.9% of GDP
What it is. This measure divides the taxes collected by South Africa's central government by the value of everything the economy produces in a year. Dividing by GDP lets the figure be compared across years of different economic size. It counts taxes such as income tax, VAT and corporate tax. Non-tax income such as fees and borrowing sits outside it.
Higher is better. A higher share is good because more of the country's income reaches the treasury, which gives government more room to fund services and pay interest on debt without borrowing more. The latest figure, for 2024, is 25.9% of GDP, up from 25.4% of GDP a year earlier, a rise of 0.48 percentage points. Since 2015 the share has ranged from a low of 23.3% of GDP in 2020 to a high of 26% of GDP in 2022. The 2024 figure therefore sits close to the top of that range.
Why it matters. At 25.9% of GDP, the state collects about a quarter of national income in tax. That is the base for paying for public services, social grants and the interest bill. Households and firms carry that burden through income tax, VAT and company tax. The recovery from the 2020 low gives the treasury more revenue to spend, and the 2022 high is the level to check future years against.
| Period | Tax revenue · South Africa |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 25% of GDP |
| 2016 | 24.8% of GDP |
| 2017 | 24.8% of GDP |
| 2018 | 24.9% of GDP |
| 2019 | 24.9% of GDP |
| 2020 | 23.3% of GDP |
| 2021 | 26% of GDP |
| 2022 | 26% of GDP |
| 2023 | 25.4% of GDP |
| 2024 | 25.9% of GDP |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Tax revenue, South Africa, 2024; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/tax-revenue/south-africa
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
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Methodology
Central government tax revenue as a share of GDP. Unit: % of GDP.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.