ATAF launched the 2025 African Tax Outlook (ATO) on 12 October 2026 in Salima, Malawi, reinforcing its commitment to strengthening tax policy and domestic resource mobilisation through African-generated data and research.
Hosted by the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), the launch opened a week of technical engagement from 12 to 16 October and brought together 46 tax administration researchers and ATO focal points from 30 countries.
Speaking on behalf of ATAF Executive Secretary Ms Mary Baine, Mr Emeka Nwankwo, ATAF Head of Domestic Tax and Capacity Enhancement, underscored the publication’s importance. “The ATO is more than a publication. It is a continental knowledge resource designed to help African countries better understand their tax performance, identify opportunities for improvement and learn from the experiences of their peers.”
The 2025 edition offers comparative insights into revenue performance, tax-to-GDP ratios, tax structures, compliance and tax administration.
Welcoming delegates on behalf of Commissioner General Mr Felix Kingstone Tambulasi, Dr Stella Manyenje, MRA Director of Tax Investigations, highlighted ATAF’s contribution to Malawi’s tax administration. “ATAF has helped sharpen our work, build our capacity and improve the quality of our data through our annual submissions to the African Tax Outlook,” she said. She acknowledged ATAF’s technical assistance and its facilitation of peer learning with the Zambia Revenue Authority to support Malawi’s digital transformation.
Technical discussions showed the ATO’s practical value. ATAF’s research partner, Skatteforsk, drew on the Atlas of the Offshore World to present country-level and regional perspectives on taxation, while Mr Frankie Mbuyamba, ATAF Manager for Regionalisation and TRIP, unpacked the ATO’s indicators, methodologies and data requirements. The discussions also initiated the validation process for the 2026 edition, with a focus on improving data quality, consistency and comparability.
Following the launch, ATAF moved into the 2026 ATO Validation Workshop, where participants reviewed preliminary findings, interrogated the data and checked that the analysis reflected what was happening across African tax systems.
They examined preliminary results on tax performance, administrative efficiency, costs and human resources, tax audits, arrears management and digital readiness. Member countries reviewed the ATO methodology and considered how to strengthen its future framework, indicators, data requirements and analytical dimensions.
