Brazil collects Latin America’s highest share of GDP in taxes, OECD says

Main points

• Brazil has the region’s highest tax-to-GDP ratio
• Latin America remains below the OECD average
• Goods and services generate nearly half of tax revenue

Latin American and Caribbean governments collect a considerably smaller share of their economies in taxes than OECD countries on average, although the gap varies widely across the region, according to the OECD’s Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2026 report.

In 2024, the region’s average tax-to-GDP ratio was 21.7%, meaning governments collected the equivalent of roughly one-fifth of economic output through taxes and social security contributions. The OECD average was 34.1%.

Brazil recorded the highest ratio in the region at 33.7%, approaching the OECD average. Argentina stood at 27.6%, Uruguay at 27.3%, Costa Rica at 24.8% and Bolivia at 23.6%.

At the other end, Guyana had the lowest ratio at 9.2%, followed by Panama at 11.3% and Guatemala at 14.3%. Mexico, Latin America’s second-largest economy, collected taxes equal to 18.3% of GDP.

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The regional average rose by 0.2 percentage points from 2023, with tax-to-GDP ratios increasing in 15 of the 28 countries covered and falling in 13. Brazil and Cuba were among the countries recording some of the largest increases, partly reflecting tax reforms.

The way governments raise money also differs from much of the OECD. Taxes on goods and services, including VAT, generated 49.2% of total tax revenue in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024. Income and profit taxes contributed 29.1%, while social security contributions accounted for 15.9%.