Tax revenues across African countries increased for the third consecutive year in 2023, pushing the continent’s average tax-to-GDP ratio to 16.1%, according to the latest Revenue Statistics in Africa 2025 report released.
The report, launched at the 19th Session of the African Union Committee of Directors General of National Statistics Offices, covers 38 countries – including The Gambia and Liberia for the first time – and shows a 0.5 percentage point rise from 2022, following smaller gains of 0.3 points in both 2021 and 2022.
Corporate income tax (CIT) was the primary driver, with oil-rich nations seeing the biggest jumps. Gabon (+4.9 p.p.), Equatorial Guinea (+4.5 p.p.), and Chad (+3.4 p.p.) recorded the largest increases, fueled by strong profits in the oil sector in 2022.
In contrast, a sharp drop in CIT revenues caused the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s ratio to fall by 2.1 percentage points, the steepest decline on the continent.
Despite the progress, Africa’s average tax-to-GDP ratio remains well below other regions: 19.6% in Asia-Pacific, 21.3% in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 33.9% among OECD countries.
Tax-to-GDP ratios varied dramatically across the continent in 2023, ranging from just 2.9% in Somalia to 34.0% in Tunisia.
Amid slower economic growth, falling hydrocarbon prices, high inflation, and rising debt costs, 24 countries still managed to increase their tax take as a share of GDP, while 13 saw declines and one remained unchanged.
On average, CIT revenues rose by 0.3% of GDP, taxes on goods and services (the largest tax category) increased by 0.1% of GDP, and personal income tax also grew by 0.1% of GDP. Social security contributions held steady.
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Non-tax revenues – such as royalties and grants – remained flat at 5.9% of GDP in 2023 but have fallen by 1.2 percentage points since 2013. That long-term decline has largely offset tax gains over the past decade, though the growing share of tax revenue is seen as a shift toward more predictable and sustainable public financing.
The report highlights extreme variation in non-tax revenues, from 0.5% of GDP in The Gambia to 33.8% in Lesotho. Eswatini and Lesotho posted the biggest increases, while Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea saw the sharpest drops.
Produced jointly by the African Union Commission, OECD, African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), and partners, the 2025 edition includes a special chapter on the common features and unique aspects of African revenue classification systems.
Funding for the report came from the governments of Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom
