Official entrance age to pre-primary education in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Official entrance age to pre-primary education was 3 years in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
3 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
58th
of 223 countries
All-time high
6 years
in 1998
All-time low
3 years
in 2012
Years of data
56
1970–2025
Official entrance age to pre-primary education in Papua New Guinea, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for official entrance age to pre-primary education in Papua New Guinea is 3 years, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 56 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to pre-primary education in Papua New Guinea peaked at 6 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 3 years, in 2012.
Papua New Guinea ranks 58th of 223 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
Official entrance age to pre-primary education in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 5 years | — |
| 1971 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1999 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 3 years | -50.0% |
| 2013 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 3 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.2 years | 5 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.6 years | 3 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
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More education data for Papua New Guinea
- 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)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.65 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 10.31 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to pre-primary education in Papua New Guinea?
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education in Papua New Guinea was 3 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest official entrance age to pre-primary education recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 6 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to pre-primary education recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 3 years in 2012.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for official entrance age to pre-primary education?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 58th out of 223 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to pre-primary education rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Official entrance age to pre-primary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Official entry age at which children are expected to start pre-primary education according to national legislation or policies.