Ranking the World's Individual Tax Burdens by Nation

With Tax Day nearly upon us here in the United States, we were curious to know just how the U.S. ranks among the world's nations when it comes to the average individual tax burden.

We picked up Greg Mankiw's controversial idea for how to rank the nations of the world by average individual tax burden, and then took it to the extreme, going far beyond the eight nations that Mankiw considered and instead, creating a dynamic table in which we present the data for all 179 world nations for which we could get or calculate the data!

You can instantly sort the data presented in our dynamic table below by clicking the column headings. We'll have more comments below the table....

2009 Average Individual Tax Burden by Nation

Nation	Population	GDP-PPP per Capita [USD}	GDP-PPP [billions USD]	Total Tax Collections [billions USD]	Taxes as a Percentage Share of GDP-PPP	Tax Collections per Capita [USD]
Afghanistan	28,395,716	800	22.72	1.45	6.4%	00,051
Albania	3,639,453	6,200	22.56	5.17	22.9%	01,420
Algeria	34,178,188	7,100	242.67	18.69	7.7%	00,547
Angola	12,799,293	8,800	112.63	6.42	5.7%	00,502
Argentina	40,913,584	13,800	564.61	129.30	22.9%	03,160
Armenia	2,967,004	5,900	17.51	2.47	14.1%	00,832
Australia	21,262,641	38,500	818.61	249.68	30.5%	11,743
Austria	8,210,281	39,400	323.49	140.39	43.4%	17,100
Azerbaijan	8,238,672	9,900	81.56	14.52	17.8%	01,762
Bahamas, The	307,552	29,800	9.17	1.71	18.7%	05,573
Bahrain	728,709	38,400	27.98	0.67	2.4%	00,922
Bangladesh	156,050,883	1,600	249.68	21.22	8.5%	00,136
Barbados	284,589	18,500	5.26	1.72	32.6%	06,031
Belarus	9,648,533	11,600	111.92	27.09	24.2%	02,807
Belgium	10,414,336	36,600	381.16	178.39	46.8%	17,129
Belize	307,899	8,200	2.52	0.55	21.6%	01,771
Benin	8,791,832	1,500	13.19	2.03	15.4%	00,231
Bhutan	691,141	6,200	4.29	0.46	10.7%	00,663
Bolivia	9,775,246	4,600	44.97	12.14	27.0%	01,242
Bosnia and Herzegovina	4,613,414	6,300	29.06	11.97	41.2%	02,596
Botswana	1,990,876	12,100	24.09	8.48	35.2%	04,259
Brazil	198,739,269	10,200	2,027.14	786.53	38.8%	03,958
Bulgaria	7,204,687	12,600	90.78	31.23	34.4%	04,334
Burkina Faso	15,746,232	1,200	18.90	2.17	11.5%	00,138
Burma	48,137,741	1,200	57.77	2.83	4.9%	00,059
Burundi	9,511,330	300	2.85	0.50	17.4%	00,052
Cambodia	14,494,293	1,900	27.54	2.20	8.0%	00,152
Cameroon	18,879,301	2,300	43.42	7.90	18.2%	00,419
Canada	33,487,208	38,400	1,285.91	429.49	33.4%	12,826
Cape Verde	429,474	3,900	1.67	0.39	23.0%	00,897
Central African Republic	4,511,488	700	3.16	0.24	7.7%	00,054
Chad	10,329,208	1,500	15.49	0.65	4.2%	00,063
Chile	16,601,707	14,700	244.05	41.73	17.1%	02,514
China, People's Republic of	1,338,612,968	6,500	8,700.98	1,479.17	17.0%	01,105
China, Republic of (Taiwan)	22,974,347	30,200	693.83	86.03	12.4%	03,745
Colombia	43,677,372	9,200	401.83	92.42	23.0%	02,116
Comoros	752,438	1,000	0.75	0.09	12.0%	00,120
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	68,692,542	300	20.61	2.72	13.2%	00,040
Congo, Republic of the	4,012,809	4,200	16.85	0.99	5.9%	00,248
Costa Rica	4,253,877	11,300	48.07	6.73	14.0%	01,582
Côte d'Ivoire	20,617,068	1,700	35.05	5.36	15.3%	00,260
Croatia	4,489,409	17,600	79.01	21.02	26.6%	04,682
Cuba	11,451,652	9,700	111.08	49.76	44.8%	04,346
Cyprus	1,084,748	21,200	23.00	8.42	36.6%	07,759
Czech Republic	10,211,904	25,100	256.32	93.04	36.3%	09,111
Denmark	5,500,510	36,200	199.12	99.56	50.0%	18,100
Djibouti	724,622	2,800	2.03	0.41	20.0%	00,560
Dominica	72,660	10,200	0.74	0.22	30.3%	03,091
Dominican Republic	9,650,054	8,200	79.13	11.87	15.0%	01,230
Ecuador	14,573,101	7,300	106.38	14.04	13.2%	00,964
Egypt	78,866,635	6,000	473.20	74.77	15.8%	00,948
El Salvador	7,185,218	6,000	43.11	5.73	13.3%	00,798
Equatorial Guinea	633,441	36,100	22.87	0.39	1.7%	00,614
Estonia	1,299,371	18,800	24.43	7.60	31.1%	05,847
Ethiopia	85,237,338	900	76.71	8.90	11.6%	00,104
Fiji	944,720	3,800	3.59	0.78	21.8%	00,828
Finland	5,250,275	34,900	183.23	79.89	43.6%	15,216
France	64,057,792	32,800	2,101.10	968.61	46.1%	15,121
Gabon	1,514,993	13,700	20.76	2.14	10.3%	01,411
Gambia, The	1,778,081	1,300	2.31	0.44	18.9%	00,246
Georgia	4,615,807	4,500	20.77	4.51	21.7%	00,977
Germany	82,329,758	34,200	2,815.68	1,143.17	40.6%	13,885
Ghana	23,887,812	1,500	35.83	7.45	20.8%	00,312
Greece	10,737,428	32,100	344.67	115.46	33.5%	10,754
Guatemala	13,276,517	5,200	69.04	8.22	11.9%	00,619
Guinea	10,057,975	1,100	11.06	0.91	8.2%	00,090
Guinea-Bissau	1,533,964	600	0.92	0.11	11.5%	00,069
Guyana	752,940	3,900	2.94	0.94	31.9%	01,244
Haiti	9,035,536	1,300	11.75	1.10	9.4%	00,122
Honduras	7,833,696	4,200	32.90	5.13	15.6%	00,655
Hong Kong	7,055,071	42,700	301.25	38.56	12.8%	05,466
Hungary	9,905,596	18,800	186.23	69.46	37.3%	07,012
Iceland	306,694	39,800	12.21	4.93	40.4%	16,079
India	1,156,897,766	3,100	3,586.38	634.79	17.7%	00,549
Indonesia	240,271,522	4,000	961.09	105.72	11.0%	00,440
Iran	66,429,284	12,900	856.94	62.56	7.3%	00,942
Ireland	4,203,200	42,200	177.38	60.31	34.0%	14,348
Israel	7,233,701	28,400	205.44	75.60	36.8%	10,451
Italy	58,126,212	30,200	1,755.41	747.81	42.6%	12,865
Jamaica	2,825,928	8,300	23.46	6.38	27.2%	02,258
Japan	127,078,679	32,600	4,142.76	1,135.12	27.4%	08,932
Jordan	6,269,285	5,300	33.23	7.01	21.1%	01,118
Kazakhstan	15,399,437	11,400	175.55	47.05	26.8%	03,055
Kenya	39,002,772	1,600	62.40	11.48	18.4%	00,294
Kiribati	112,850	5,300	0.60	0.55	91.6%	04,855
Korea, South	48,508,972	27,700	1,343.70	360.11	26.8%	07,424
Kuwait	2,692,526	55,800	150.24	2.25	1.5%	00,837
Kyrgyzstan	5,431,747	2,100	11.41	2.44	21.4%	00,449
Laos	6,834,345	2,100	14.35	1.55	10.8%	00,227
Latvia	2,231,503	14,500	32.36	9.84	30.4%	04,408
Lebanon	4,017,095	11,500	46.20	6.65	14.4%	01,656
Lesotho	2,130,819	1,500	3.20	1.37	42.9%	00,644
Liberia	3,441,790	500	1.72	0.23	13.2%	00,066
Libya	6,324,357	14,600	92.34	2.49	2.7%	00,394
Lithuania	3,555,179	15,000	53.33	11.15	20.9%	03,135
Luxembourg	491,775	77,600	38.16	13.89	36.4%	28,246
Macau	559,846	30,000	16.80	3.38	20.1%	06,030
Macedonia	2,066,718	9,000	18.60	5.45	29.3%	02,637
Madagascar	20,653,556	1,000	20.65	2.21	10.7%	00,107
Malawi	15,028,757	900	13.53	2.80	20.7%	00,186
Malaysia	25,715,819	14,700	378.02	58.59	15.5%	02,279
Maldives	396,334	4,200	1.66	0.34	20.5%	00,861
Mali	13,443,225	1,100	14.79	2.26	15.3%	00,168
Malta	405,165	23,800	9.64	3.39	35.2%	08,378
Mauritania	3,129,486	2,100	6.57	1.01	15.4%	00,323
Mauritius	1,284,264	12,400	15.92	2.88	18.1%	02,244
Mexico	111,211,789	13,200	1,468.00	142.40	9.7%	01,280
Micronesia	107,434	2,200	0.24	0.03	12.3%	00,271
Moldova	4,320,748	2,400	10.37	3.50	33.8%	00,811
Mongolia	3,041,142	3,400	10.34	3.49	33.8%	01,149
Montenegro	672,180	9,800	6.59	1.84	28.0%	02,744
Morocco	31,285,174	4,600	143.91	32.09	22.3%	01,026
Mozambique	21,669,278	900	19.50	2.61	13.4%	00,121
Namibia	2,108,665	6,400	13.50	3.89	28.8%	01,843
Nepal	28,563,377	1,200	34.28	3.74	10.9%	00,131
Netherlands	16,715,999	39,000	651.92	257.51	39.5%	15,405
New Zealand	4,213,418	27,700	116.71	42.60	36.5%	10,111
Nicaragua	5,891,199	2,800	16.50	2.94	17.8%	00,498
Niger	15,306,252	700	10.71	1.18	11.0%	00,077
Nigeria	149,229,090	2,400	358.15	21.85	6.1%	00,146
Norway	4,660,539	59,300	276.37	120.50	43.6%	25,855
Oman	3,418,085	20,300	69.39	1.39	2.0%	00,406
Pakistan	174,578,558	2,600	453.90	48.11	10.6%	00,276
Panama	3,360,474	11,900	39.99	4.24	10.6%	01,261
Papua New Guinea	5,940,775	2,300	13.66	3.35	24.5%	00,564
Paraguay	6,995,655	4,100	28.68	3.44	12.0%	00,492
Peru	29,546,963	8,600	254.10	38.37	15.1%	01,299
Philippines	97,976,603	3,300	323.32	46.56	14.4%	00,475
Poland	38,482,919	17,800	685.00	231.53	33.8%	06,016
Portugal	10,707,924	21,700	232.36	85.97	37.0%	08,029
Qatar	833,285	121,400	101.16	2.23	2.2%	02,671
Romania	22,215,421	11,500	255.48	71.79	28.1%	03,232
Russia	140,041,247	15,200	2,128.63	785.46	36.9%	05,609
Rwanda	10,746,311	1,000	10.75	1.52	14.1%	00,141
Saint Lucia	160,267	10,900	1.75	0.40	23.1%	02,518
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	104,574	18,100	1.89	0.50	26.5%	04,797
Samoa	219,998	4,700	1.03	0.26	25.5%	01,199
São Tomé and Príncipe	212,679	1,400	0.30	0.05	17.4%	00,244
Saudi Arabia	28,686,633	20,300	582.34	30.86	5.3%	01,076
Senegal	13,711,597	1,700	23.31	4.48	19.2%	00,326
Serbia	7,379,339	10,400	76.75	26.17	34.1%	03,546
Seychelles	87,476	19,400	1.70	0.54	32.0%	06,208
Sierra Leone	5,132,138	900	4.62	0.48	10.5%	00,095
Singapore	4,657,542	50,300	234.27	30.46	13.0%	06,539
Slovakia	5,463,046	21,100	115.27	34.00	29.5%	06,225
Slovenia	2,005,692	28,200	56.56	22.23	39.3%	11,083
Solomon Islands	595,613	2,600	1.55	0.38	24.7%	00,642
South Africa	49,052,489	10,000	490.52	131.95	26.9%	02,690
Spain	40,525,002	33,700	1,365.69	509.40	37.3%	12,570
Sri Lanka	21,324,791	4,500	95.96	14.68	15.3%	00,689
Sudan	41,087,825	2,300	94.50	5.95	6.3%	00,145
Suriname	481,267	8,800	4.24	0.94	22.1%	01,945
Swaziland	1,337,186	4,400	5.88	2.34	39.8%	01,751
Sweden	9,059,651	36,800	333.40	165.70	49.7%	18,290
Switzerland	7,604,467	41,600	316.35	95.22	30.1%	12,522
Syria	21,762,978	4,700	102.29	10.94	10.7%	00,503
Tajikistan	7,349,145	1,800	13.23	2.18	16.5%	00,297
Tanzania	41,048,532	1,400	57.47	6.90	12.0%	00,168
Thailand	65,998,436	8,100	534.59	90.88	17.0%	01,377
Timor-Leste	1,131,612	2,400	2.72	2.98	109.7%	02,633
Togo	6,031,808	900	5.43	0.84	15.5%	00,140
Tonga	120,898	4,600	0.56	0.15	27.0%	01,242
Trinidad and Tobago	1,229,953	23,300	28.66	8.02	28.0%	06,524
Tunisia	10,486,339	8,000	83.89	12.50	14.9%	01,192
Turkey	76,805,524	11,200	860.22	279.57	32.5%	03,640
Turkmenistan	4,884,887	6,700	32.73	6.61	20.2%	01,353
Uganda	32,369,558	1,300	42.08	5.30	12.6%	00,164
Ukraine	45,700,395	6,400	292.48	111.44	38.1%	02,438
United Arab Emirates	4,798,491	41,800	200.58	2.81	1.4%	00,585
United Kingdom	61,113,205	35,400	2,163.41	843.73	39.0%	13,806
United States	307,212,123	46,400	14,254.64	4,019.81	28.2%	13,085
Uruguay	3,494,382	12,600	44.03	10.17	23.1%	02,911
Uzbekistan	27,606,007	2,800	77.30	16.23	21.0%	00,588
Vanuatu	218,519	4,800	1.05	0.19	17.8%	00,854
Venezuela	26,814,843	13,200	353.96	88.49	25.0%	03,300
Vietnam	88,576,758	2,900	256.87	35.45	13.8%	00,400
Yemen	22,858,238	2,500	57.15	4.06	7.1%	00,178
Zambia	11,862,740	1,500	17.79	2.86	16.1%	00,242
Zimbabwe	11,392,629	200	2.28	1.12	49.3%	00,099

By sorting the data from high to low for Tax Collections per Person, we find that the United States ranks 14th out of 179 nations, putting the U.S. into the top ranks for individual tax burden in the world.

That's despite the U.S. middle of the pack ranking for taxes as a percentage share of GDP per capita (adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity), where it comes in 54th in the world with an average tax percentage share of GDP of 28.2%.

Finally, we were surprised that the nation of Timor-Leste has a tax percentage share of GDP of 109%, which is likely elevated given the nation's recovery following the economic destruction and turmoil produced by the Indonesian invasion less than a decade ago. We'd be curious to see how that figure changes as the nation continues its economic recovery from the event.

Data Sources

• Population: 2009 CIA World Fact Book
  
• GDP per Capita (PPP): 2009 CIA World Fact Book
  
• Tax Revenue as Percentage of GDP: Wikipedia
  

We calculated the other figures using these data sources.