Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP was 0.5% in 2021. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2021)
0.5%
Change on year
up 3.9%
World rank
118th
of 173 countries
All-time high
3.0%
in 1977
All-time low
0.3%
in 2018
Years of data
9
1972–2021
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Papua New Guinea, 1972–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 0.5% for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in 2021.
The figure is up 3.9% on the previous year and down 18.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Papua New Guinea peaked at 3.0% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2018.
Papua New Guinea ranks 118th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 0.9% | — |
| 1977 | 3.0% | +251.2% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | -77.9% |
| 2016 | 0.6% | -15.4% |
| 2017 | 0.5% | -18.0% |
| 2018 | 0.3% | -32.4% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | +44.7% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | +15.9% |
| 2021 | 0.5% | +3.9% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 0.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.6%, 87% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 0.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.7%, 80% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.9% | 0.9% | 3.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.7% | 5 |
| 2020s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2 |
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 expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Papua New Guinea?
- Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Papua New Guinea was 0.5% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 3.0% in 1977.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2018.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 118th out of 173 countries with data for 2021.
- Is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.2%. 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, published as part of Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release