JAKARTA. Indonesia's ability to generate tax revenue continues to lag behind most countries in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the latest Revenue Statistics in Asia and the Pacific 2026 report published by the OECD, Indonesia's tax-to-GDP ratio reached only 11.8% in 2024.
The figure places Indonesia as the country with the third-lowest tax ratio among the 38 countries and economies covered in the report. Only Timor-Leste, with a tax ratio of 10.0%, and Bangladesh, at 6.7%, ranked lower.
Compared with its regional peers, Indonesia also remains behind. The OECD reported tax-to-GDP ratios of 13.0% for Malaysia, 13.4% for Singapore, 17.1% for Thailand, 17.2% for Vietnam, 18.1% for the Philippines, and 19.5% for China in 2024.
Regionally, the average tax-to-GDP ratio across the Asia-Pacific reached 19.7% in 2024, nearly eight percentage points higher than Indonesia's. The regional average also remained below the 21.7% average recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean and the 34.1% average among OECD member countries.
The OECD noted that tax revenue across the Asia-Pacific region has continued to show positive momentum.
"The average tax-to-GDP ratio in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 0.3 percentage points from 2023 to 2024, reaching 19.7%," the report states.
Tax Ratio and Per Capita Income
The report explains that the tax-to-GDP ratio is one of the key indicators used to measure a country's ability to mobilize domestic revenue.
However, the OECD emphasizes that the indicator should be complemented by tax revenue per capita, as countries with similar tax-to-GDP ratios do not necessarily have the same fiscal capacity.
In its analysis, Indonesia is cited as an example of a country with a relatively low tax ratio but tax revenue per capita that is not significantly different from countries with much higher tax ratios.
"Indonesia and Samoa recorded broadly similar levels of tax revenue per capita in 2024, at USD1,969 and USD2,043, respectively," the report states.
For comparison, Samoa recorded a tax-to-GDP ratio of approximately 22.0%, nearly double that of Indonesia. This illustrates that tax revenue per capita is influenced not only by the tax ratio but also by a country's level of income per capita.
The OECD report also shows that Indonesia's tax revenue structure remains heavily reliant on taxes on goods and services, which accounted for approximately 43.1% of total tax revenue in 2024. Meanwhile, revenue from property taxes and social security contributions remained relatively small compared with many other countries in the region.
The findings suggest that Indonesia still has considerable room to broaden its tax base, both by optimizing existing taxes and diversifying revenue sources. Doing so could reduce the country's reliance on consumption taxes. (KEN)
