School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes was 226,155 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
226,155
Change on year
up 1.0%
World rank
81st
of 222 countries
All-time high
226,155
in 2025
All-time low
58,189
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea is 226,155, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 17.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea peaked at 226,155 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 58,189, in 1970.
Papua New Guinea ranks 81st of 222 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 58,189 | — |
| 1971 | 60,540 | +4.0% |
| 1972 | 62,425 | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 65,119 | +4.3% |
| 1974 | 67,857 | +4.2% |
| 1975 | 70,689 | +4.2% |
| 1976 | 72,881 | +3.1% |
| 1977 | 75,111 | +3.1% |
| 1978 | 76,623 | +2.0% |
| 1979 | 77,916 | +1.7% |
| 1980 | 78,668 | +1.0% |
| 1981 | 79,275 | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 80,476 | +1.5% |
| 1983 | 81,736 | +1.6% |
| 1984 | 83,196 | +1.8% |
| 1985 | 85,288 | +2.5% |
| 1986 | 86,859 | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 88,306 | +1.7% |
| 1988 | 89,769 | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 91,421 | +1.8% |
| 1990 | 93,225 | +2.0% |
| 1991 | 95,591 | +2.5% |
| 1992 | 98,574 | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 101,849 | +3.3% |
| 1994 | 105,092 | +3.2% |
| 1995 | 108,697 | +3.4% |
| 1996 | 113,158 | +4.1% |
| 1997 | 117,208 | +3.6% |
| 1998 | 121,414 | +3.6% |
| 1999 | 125,332 | +3.2% |
| 2000 | 129,416 | +3.3% |
| 2001 | 134,162 | +3.7% |
| 2002 | 138,885 | +3.5% |
| 2003 | 141,184 | +1.7% |
| 2004 | 144,166 | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 148,510 | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 153,166 | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 157,074 | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 160,661 | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 165,182 | +2.8% |
| 2010 | 169,760 | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 174,495 | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 179,256 | +2.7% |
| 2013 | 182,836 | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 187,445 | +2.5% |
| 2015 | 192,104 | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 196,371 | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 199,700 | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 203,462 | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 206,878 | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 210,351 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 213,859 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 216,923 | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 221,024 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 223,890 | +1.3% |
| 2025 | 226,155 | +1.0% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 226,155 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 255,188, 89% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 226,155 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 37,631, 6.0× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 68,735 | 58,189 | 77,916 | 10 |
| 1980s | 84,499 | 78,668 | 91,421 | 10 |
| 1990s | 108,014 | 93,225 | 125,332 | 10 |
| 2000s | 147,241 | 129,416 | 165,182 | 10 |
| 2010s | 189,231 | 169,760 | 206,878 | 10 |
| 2020s | 218,700 | 210,351 | 226,155 | 6 |
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 school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea?
- School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea was 226,155 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 226,155 in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 58,189 in 1970.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 81st out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.7%. 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, published as part of School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release