Revenue Statistics in Asia and the Pacific 2026

Executive summary

Revenue Statistics in Asia and the Pacific 2026 presents detailed, internationally comparable data on public revenues in the Asia-Pacific region up to 2024. The publication finds that tax revenues rose as a share of GDP on average across the region for the fourth consecutive year in 2024, supported by resilient economies, strong exports and robust technology investment, as well as the continued recovery of tourism in several Pacific Island economies. However, tax and non-tax revenues decreased as a share of GDP in a majority of economies examined in the report between 2023 and 2024.

The publication includes harmonised revenue data for 38 economies in the Asia-Pacific region: Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China (hereafter “China”), the Cook Islands, Fiji, Georgia, Hong Kong (China),1 Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan,2 Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Malaysia, the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Vanuatu and Viet Nam.

Tax-to-GDP ratios in Asia and the Pacific

In 2024, the average tax-to-GDP ratio in the 38 Asian and Pacific economies covered in this report was 19.7%, below the averages for OECD countries and for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), of 34.1% and 21.7%, respectively, but above the African average in 2023 (16.1%). Tax-to-GDP ratios in the region ranged from 6.7% in Bangladesh to 33.7% in Japan (2023 figure).

The average tax-to-GDP ratio in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 0.3 percentage points (p.p.) between 2023 and 2024 and was above the level in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, of 19.3%. The average tax-to-GDP ratio among OECD countries increased by 0.3 p.p. in 2024 while the average for the LAC region rose by 0.2 p.p. in the same year.

In 2024, the tax-to-GDP ratio fell in 20 out of 36 Asia-Pacific economies for which data for 2024 are available, with three economies reporting a fall larger than 2 p.p.: Niue (3.5 p.p.), Nauru (3.0 p.p.) and Kazakhstan (2.1 p.p.). In most of the economies with declining tax-to-GDP ratios, nominal GDP grew faster than total tax revenues.

Meanwhile, the tax-to-GDP ratio rose in the remaining 16 economies, increasing by 2.0 p.p. or more in five economies in 2024: the Cook Islands (5.9 p.p.), Mongolia (4.8 p.p.), the Marshall Islands (4.7 p.p.), Fiji (3.6 p.p.) and Sri Lanka (2.5 p.p.). These increases were driven by a range of factors, including a rebound in tourism, increased business activities and national tax reforms.

Over a longer timeframe, tax-to-GDP ratios increased in 21 of the 36 Asian and Pacific economies for which data were available between 2014 and 2024 and declined in 15 economies. The largest increases were observed in Mongolia (9.3 p.p.), the Cook Islands (8.8 p.p.), Kiribati (7.0 p.p.), the Maldives (6.9 p.p.), Nauru (6.5 p.p.) and the Marshall Islands (6.0 p.p.). In Mongolia, higher revenues were partly attributable to the introduction of a progressive personal income tax (PIT) system, alongside a strong performance in the mining sector during this period, which boosted corporate income tax (CIT) revenues. Among the other economies with the largest increases, these were driven by tax policy reforms and expanding economic activity, particularly in the tourism sector.

The largest decreases between 2014 and 2024 were observed in Timor-Leste (10.0 p.p.), Kazakhstan (3.6 p.p.), Malaysia (2.3 p.p.), Papua New Guinea (2.3 p.p.) and Hong Kong (China) (2.1 p.p.). Falls in global commodity prices partly drove the declines in Kazakhstan and Timor-Leste (where these combined with declines in oil and gas production).

Tax structures in Asia and the Pacific

Taxes on goods and services remain the main source of tax revenue for 26 out of the 38 Asia-Pacific economies, representing, on average, 50% of total taxation across the region. VAT accounted for the largest share in 18 of these 26 economies in 2024, ranging from 24.7% of total tax revenues in Viet Nam to 56.8% in Vanuatu. In the remaining eight economies, taxes on goods and services other than VAT, such as excises and import duties, accounted for a larger share of total tax revenue than VAT.

With the recent increases in income tax revenues, PIT and CIT have become increasingly important revenue sources across Asia and the Pacific, amounting to 18.2% and 19.9% of total tax revenues on average, respectively. In 10 out of the 38 Asia-Pacific economies, taxes on income and profits accounted for the largest share of tax revenues, ranging from 31.2% in Korea to 67.6% in Tokelau. Social security contributions (SSCs) accounted for the largest share of total tax revenue in 2024 in the Marshall Islands (40.2%), the only Pacific economy that levies SSCs, and Japan (39.1% in 2023). Across the Asia-Pacific region, SSCs represented 8.4% of total tax revenues on average.

Non-tax revenue in selected economies

This publication includes data on non-tax revenue for 24 economies: Bhutan, Cambodia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Hong Kong (China), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Nauru, Niue, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Vanuatu and Viet Nam. Between 2023 and 2024, non-tax revenue increased in 11 economies and declined in 13.

Non-tax revenues in 2024 ranged from 1.1% of GDP in Sri Lanka to 171.9% in Tokelau (grants and property income exceeded GDP). Tokelau, Niue, the Marshall Islands and Nauru were the only Asia-Pacific economies in which non-tax revenues exceeded tax revenues in 2024. Grants exceeded 50% of total non-tax revenue in 6 economies in 2024 while property income accounted for the largest share of non-tax revenue in 11 economies.

Special Feature: Taxing informal and hard-to-tax sectors

This edition includes a Special Feature on taxing informal and hard-to-tax sectors across the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting that effective approaches to improving compliance and revenue mobilisation require targeted and country-specific strategies rather than broad measures. Tax administrations should focus compliance efforts on taxpayers with greater revenue potential rather than relying on a simple distinction between formal and informal sectors. Measures aimed at reducing informality, such as expanding taxpayer registration, lowering tax rates and introducing presumptive taxation, have shown mixed results, highlighting the importance of tailoring policies to country circumstances.

Notes

← 1.  Note by the ADB: The ADB recognises “Hong Kong (China)” as “Hong Kong, China”.

← 2.  Note by the ADB: The ADB recognises “Kyrgyzstan” as the “Kyrgyz Republic”.