Tax Revenues Rise Slightly as Grants to Developing Countries Decline – IMF Report
New data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that Global government revenues have remained broadly stable at about 30 percent of GDP since 2000.
In its 2026 update of The World Revenue Longitudinal Database (WoRLD) its also highlighted that that tax revenues have also increased slightly over the same period, rising by about 1.8 percentage points of GDP to reach 17.5 percent of GDP in 2024.
The data further revealed that taxes continue to account for the largest share of government income, representing between 55 and 60 percent of total revenues since the early 2000s. However, a significant portion of government revenue still comes from non-tax sources, including grants, natural resource revenues, and social security contributions.
One notable trend identified in the database is the sharp decline in grants, which are a major revenue source for many low-income developing countries with Grants falling by about 50 percent since the early 2000s, dropping from roughly 6 percent of GDP to about 3 percent.
These insights which come from the IMF’s World Revenue Longitudinal Database , a database which is built using IMF surveillance data and calculated under the Government Finance Statistics Manual aims at tracking global government revenue trends dating back to the early 1980s.
In its 2026 update, the database expanded country coverage to include Aruba and Liechtenstein, while extending the data series to 2024.
According to the IMF, the database tracks nine key components of tax and non-tax revenues, which together account for more than 80 percent of global government revenues. The IMF says the database will be updated annually to provide insights into developments affecting governments’ fiscal positions worldwide.
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