Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary was 121.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Papua New Guinea, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Papua New Guinea is 121.1%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 44 years on record.
That represents a change of up 9.0% on the previous year and up 20.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Papua New Guinea peaked at 121.1% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 46.6%, in 1971.
Papua New Guinea ranks 10th of 217 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 44 years of available data.
Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 46.9% | — |
| 1971 | 46.6% | -0.6% |
| 1972 | 47.2% | +1.2% |
| 1973 | 48.8% | +3.3% |
| 1974 | 49.8% | +2.2% |
| 1975 | 50.5% | +1.3% |
| 1976 | 52.1% | +3.3% |
| 1977 | 52.0% | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 53.3% | +2.4% |
| 1979 | 55.7% | +4.5% |
| 1980 | 59.5% | +6.8% |
| 1981 | 59.1% | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 60.6% | +2.6% |
| 1984 | 65.2% | +7.6% |
| 1986 | 67.2% | +3.1% |
| 1987 | 67.9% | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 69.0% | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 71.3% | +3.3% |
| 1990 | 69.5% | -2.6% |
| 1991 | 68.8% | -0.9% |
| 1992 | 70.0% | +1.7% |
| 1993 | 72.8% | +4.1% |
| 1994 | 74.3% | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 73.4% | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 72.1% | -1.8% |
| 1997 | 71.4% | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 74.7% | +4.6% |
| 2000 | 68.4% | -8.5% |
| 2001 | 62.0% | -9.4% |
| 2002 | 59.7% | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 56.2% | -5.8% |
| 2004 | 56.0% | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 57.0% | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 55.6% | -2.6% |
| 2008 | 59.4% | +7.0% |
| 2012 | 100.9% | +69.7% |
| 2014 | 101.8% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 104.5% | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 110.1% | +5.4% |
| 2019 | 105.3% | -4.4% |
| 2020 | 102.1% | -3.1% |
| 2021 | 101.9% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 111.1% | +9.0% |
| 2023 | 121.1% | +9.0% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 121.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 102.7%, 1.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 121.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 100.7%, 1.2× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary in Papua New Guinea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +69.7% | 59.4% | 100.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 50.3% | 46.6% | 55.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 65.0% | 59.1% | 71.3% | 8 |
| 1990s | 71.9% | 68.8% | 74.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 59.3% | 55.6% | 68.4% | 8 |
| 2010s | 104.5% | 100.9% | 110.1% | 5 |
| 2020s | 109.0% | 101.9% | 121.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 7 Turks and Caicos Islands 125.1% compare
- 8 United States Virgin Islands 124.1% compare
- 9 Saint Kitts and Nevis 121.1% compare
- 11 Uzbekistan 120.9% compare
- 12 Namibia 120.7% compare
- 13 Monaco 120.6% compare
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 primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Papua New Guinea?
- Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Papua New Guinea was 121.1% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 121.1% in 2023.
- What is the lowest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 46.6% in 1971.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 10th out of 217 countries with data for 2023.
- Is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 44 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of children of any age group who are enrolled in primary education, expressed as a percentage of the total population of the official primary school age.