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.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 5.2% | — |
| 1977 | 7.4% | +40.8% |
| 2015 | 1.6% | -78.0% |
| 2016 | 0.9% | -47.5% |
| 2017 | 2.0% | +130.1% |
| 2018 | 1.9% | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 0.8% | -59.4% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | +17.9% |
| 2021 | 0.7% | -20.5% |
| 2022 | 0.6% | -9.9% |
| 2023 | 0.8% | +21.6% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 0.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 19% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 0.8% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.2%, 18% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
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
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 14,791 (2016)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 80,915 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 226,545 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 208,353 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 655,030 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.65 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 10.31 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1593 units per person (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.