Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government was 6.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Papua New Guinea, 2000–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in IMF calculation.
Analysis
In 2023, expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Papua New Guinea stood at 6.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and down 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Papua New Guinea peaked at 16.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 5.3%, in 2021.
Papua New Guinea ranks 117th of 123 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | IMF calculation | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 16.5% | — |
| 2001 | 16.2% | -1.6% |
| 2002 | 10.0% | -38.2% |
| 2017 | 7.6% | -24.0% |
| 2018 | 8.0% | +4.5% |
| 2019 | 7.8% | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 5.7% | -27.7% |
| 2021 | 5.3% | -6.1% |
| 2022 | 6.8% | +28.3% |
| 2023 | 6.8% | +0.5% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 6.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 14.4%, 48% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 6.8% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 13.3%, 51% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 14.2% | 10.0% | 16.5% | 3 |
| 2010s | 7.8% | 7.6% | 8.0% | 3 |
| 2020s | 6.2% | 5.3% | 6.8% | 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 expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Papua New Guinea?
- Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Papua New Guinea was 6.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest expenditure on education as a percentage of total government recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 16.5% in 2000.
- What is the lowest expenditure on education as a percentage of total government recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.3% in 2021.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for expenditure on education as a percentage of total government?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 117th out of 123 countries with data for 2023.
- Is expenditure on education as a percentage of total government rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure (%) (IMF calculation). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release