Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 0.8% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Papua New Guinea, 1972–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Papua New Guinea stood at 0.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 21.6% on the previous year and down 51.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Papua New Guinea peaked at 7.4% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 2022.
That places Papua New Guinea 196th out of 199 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.3% | 5.2% | 7.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 1.4% | 0.8% | 2.0% | 5 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More education data for Papua New Guinea
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Duration of pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 33.1% (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 121.1% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 40,888 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 3.07 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 118.9% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Papua New Guinea?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Papua New Guinea was 0.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 7.4% in 1977.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 2022.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 196th out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 51.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending on education as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.