Washington: The International Monetary Fund’s World Revenue Longitudinal Database (WoRLD) is a pivotal resource for tracking government revenue trends across 193 countries since the early 1990s. This comprehensive database provides policymakers, researchers, and the public with essential insights into the evolution of both the level and composition of revenues globally. The database, which relies on consistent and reliable IMF surveillance data, facilitates cross-country comparisons and longitudinal analysis, proving to be an invaluable tool for shaping policies aimed at advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, climate action, and economic equity.

According to Asian Development Bank, WoRLD directly monitors nine key components of tax and non-tax revenues, which collectively account for approximately 82 percent of government revenue worldwide. Among the notable findings, global average government revenue as a share of GDP stood at about 29.6 percent in 2021, marking a slight increase from the mid-1990s levels. The database is set to receive annual updates to provide ongoing insights into recent developments affecting governments’ fiscal positions.

The database’s insights are crucial for various stakeholders, including Mario Mansour, Division Chief of the Fiscal Affairs Department; Imdad Ullah Bosal, Finance Secretary for the Government of Pakistan; Sanjeev Gupta, Senior Fellow Emeritus at the Center for Global Development; Frankie Mbuyamba, Manager of ATAF Regionalisation at the African Tax Administration Forum; Nara Monkam, Associate Professor of Public Economics at the University of Pretoria; and Mark Plant, Chief Operating Officer and CEO of CGD Europe, as well as a Senior Policy Fellow at the Center for Global Development. These experts rely on WoRLD to inform their financial strategies and policy-making decisions in pursuit of economic development and stability.