Ranked: Countries with the Highest Government Revenue
This post may contain affiliate links. If you use them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Please see our disclaimer page for more information.
Key Takeaways
Looking at the highest government revenues across countries, relative to their GDP:
- Pacific island nations dominate the top rankings, in some case with revenue exceeding total GDP
- Tiny economies show extreme ratios due to mining royalties, fishing licenses, and foreign aid dwarfing domestic economic activity
- Norway and Kuwait are the only large economies in the top 10, powered by oil and gas revenues
- Resource extraction drives the highest government revenue ratios globally
When measuring total government revenue as a percentage of GDP, tiny Pacific island nations dominate the rankings. Nauru tops the list at an extraordinary 152.94%, meaning government revenues exceed the country’s entire economic output. This unusual figure reflects revenues from phosphate mining operations and international agreements that dwarf the nation’s small domestic economy.
Fellow Pacific nations Tuvalu (126.54%), Kiribati (75.54%), and Micronesia (66.99%) also rank high, driven by fishing licenses, foreign aid, and trust fund earnings that are massive relative to their tiny populations and limited economic activity.
Among larger economies, Norway and Kuwait both clock in at 63.05%, fueled by substantial oil and gas revenues that flow into government coffers. These resource-rich nations channel natural resource wealth directly through the public sector.
The data reveals a clear pattern: the highest government revenue ratios belong either to resource-rich micro-states or oil-producing nations where natural resource extraction generates outsized public sector income.
Countries excluded from this analysis: Due to missing data, we excluded these countries from the ranking: Afghanistan, Argentina, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Eritrea, Honduras, Lebanon, Russia, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Türkiye, and Venezuela.
Also check Countries with the Lowest Government Revenue.
Data Source: IMF/World Bank Open Data (2022).
Custom Research and Analysis: Need a specialized evaluation or help interpreting specific datasets? We provide professional statistical analysis and custom reporting tailored to your requirements. Contact us to request a custom report.