EU tax and social contribution revenue up in 2021 (Eurostat)

European Union

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Published on 07.11.2022

In 2021, revenue from taxes and social contributions increased by €520 billion in the EU compared with 2020, to stand at €6 058 billion. This information comes from data on taxation published by Eurostat

The overall tax-to-GDP ratio, meaning the sum of taxes and net social contributions as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), stood at 41.7% in the EU in 2021, an increase compared with 2020 (41.1%).

Highest tax-to-GDP ratio

The tax-to-GDP ratio varied significantly between Member States in 2021, with the highest shares of taxes and social contributions as a percentage of GDP being recorded in Denmark (48.8%), France (47.0%) and Belgium (46.0%)

At the opposite end of the scale, Ireland (21.9%) and Romania (27.3%) registered the lowest ratios.

Largest increase of tax-to-GDP ratio

Compared with 2020, the tax-to-GDP ratio increased in twenty EU Member States in 2021, with the largest rise being observed in Cyprus (from 34.0% in 2020 to 36.0% in 2021).

In contrast, decreases were recorded in five Member States, notably in Hungary (from 36.1% in 2020 to 34.0% in 2021) and Croatia (from 36.9% to 35.8%).