Tax pressure across African nations

Seychelles emerges as the second-highest taxed country in Africa, following Algeria. According to Wisevoter, Algeria leads the continent with a tax burden of 37.2 %, while Seychelles closely follows with a tax rate of 32.4 %.

Despite its second-place ranking in Africa, Seychelles holds 31st globally out of 172 countries, whereas Algeria ranks 17th worldwide. Tunisia, Eritrea, and South Africa complete the top 5 as countries with the highest tax rates. Tunisia’s rate stands just behind Seychelles at 32.1 %, while Eritrea and South Africa have rates of 30.5 % and 29.1 % respectively.

The tax burden between Morocco and Mozambique shows a narrow 0.7 % difference, with Morocco ranking sixth and Mozambique seventh on the continent. Morocco’s tax rate is 27.8 %, while Mozambique’s is 27.1 %. Djibouti (21.8 %) and Lesotho (20.2 %) rank eighth and tenth on the continent, respectively. Mauritius’ tax rate of 20.4 % places it ninth in Africa and 74th globally.

From a regional standpoint, only Seychelles and Mauritius feature among the top ten African countries with the highest tax burdens. Meanwhile, Maldives (17.49 %) ranks 91st, followed by Comoros (17.4 %) at 92nd worldwide. Madagascar ranks 144th globally, with a tax pressure of 11.4 %.

Significant differences exist between countries with the highest and lowest tax burdens, mainly attributable to each nation’s economic policies regarding public expenditure and tax structures.