By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio of the EU, which is the sum of taxes and net social contributions as a percentage of GDP, climbed to 40.4% in 2024, up from 39.9% in the previous year, according to official data released Friday.
In 2024, total revenue from taxes and social contributions in EU countries increased by €387 billion ($447.3 billion) compared to 2023, reaching €7.28 trillion ($8.4 trillion), according to Eurostat data.
Meanwhile, in the euro area, the tax-to-GDP ratio was at 40.9% in 2024, up from 40.5% in the previous year.
Revenue from taxes and social contributions in the eurozone increased by €291 billion compared to 2023, reaching €6.2 trillion.
The country with the highest tax-to-GDP ratio was Denmark in 2024, with 45.8%, followed by France with 45.3% and Belgium with 45.1%.
On the other hand, the countries with the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in the period were Ireland at 22.4%, Romania at 28.8%, and Malta at 29.3%.
In 2024, compared with 2023, the tax-to-GDP ratio increased in 22 EU countries, with the largest increases observed in Malta (from 26.7% in 2023 to 29.3% in 2024), Latvia (33.0% in 2023 and 35.5% in 2024), and Slovenia (from 36.8% in 2023 to 38.8% in 2024).
Conversely, the ratio decreased in five countries, with declines ranging between 0.5 and 0.1 percentage points.
Meanwhile, in 2023, the average tax-to-GPD ratio among the 38 members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was 33.9%.
The eurozone, also known as the euro area or EA20, represents the 20 EU member states that use the euro as their official currency, while the EU27 includes all of its member countries.