The Organization for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD) has published the 2025 edition of its report “Revenue Statistics in Africa 2025,” accompanied by detailed country summaries.
This reference document provides a precise and comparative overview of the capacity of African states to mobilize domestic tax resources, a central issue for financing public policies and ensuring fiscal sustainability.
The report highlights significant differences among countries on the continent. While the African average tax-to-GDP ratio (tax revenue as a percentage of GDP) stood at only 16.1% in 2023, several countries show substantially higher levels.
Note that the tax-to-GDP ratio indicates the share of national wealth effectively collected by the state in the form of taxes, duties, and social contributions. It reflects a country’s capacity to mobilize its own domestic tax resources.
According to the OECD, Tunisia stands out as the African country with the highest tax-to-GDP ratio. After peaking at 34.8% in 2022, the ratio declined slightly in 2023 to settle at 34%.
This level remains well above the African average, exceeding it by 17.9 percentage points. At the continental level, this average of 16.1% results from a cumulative increase of 5.7 points since 2013.
In detail, the structure of Tunisia’s tax revenues differs markedly from the dominant African pattern. Social security contributions constitute the main source of revenue, accounting for 27% of the total, ahead of personal income tax (IRPP), which contributes 23%.
This configuration is entirely different from the African average, where social contributions represent only about 7% of tax revenues. In Tunisia, social contributions weigh nearly four times the African average, and the share of personal income tax is also higher than in most countries on the continent.
Conversely, the value-added tax (VAT), the main source of tax revenue on the continent with an average of 27%, occupies a more moderate share in Tunisia, around 20%.
Behind Tunisia, Seychelles occupies the second place on the continent, with a tax-to-GDP ratio of 29.1%. Their tax model contrasts sharply with that of Tunisia. Value-added tax (VAT) is the main source of revenue, representing 34% of the total.
In third place, Morocco reports a ratio of 28.5% of GDP, despite a decrease of 1.4 percentage points in 2023. Here as well, the revenue structure relies mainly on VAT, which accounts for 26% of tax revenue.
The ranking continues with South Africa, placed fourth with a ratio of 26.5% of GDP. Its tax profile is distinguished by a strong predominance of personal income tax, which accounts for 34% of tax revenue.
Mauritius completes the African Top 5, with a ratio of 23.1% of GDP, up 0.8 percentage points in 2023, reaching its highest historical level. Its model resembles that of Seychelles, relying heavily on VAT (34%) and other taxes on goods and services (23%).
Other countries also rank among those with the highest tax-to-GDP ratios. Lesotho shows a ratio of 22.7%, while Namibia, ranked 7th, has a tax structure dominated by personal income tax (37%) and VAT (34%).
Finally, Burkina Faso, with a ratio of 19.5% of GDP, is also among the African countries with the highest levels of tax revenue mobilization.
