School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: School age population, one year before the official primary entry was 124,201 in 2025. ▲ Rising
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Papua New Guinea, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 124,201 for school age population, one year before the official primary entry 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 12.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Papua New Guinea peaked at 124,201 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 42,791, in 1970.
Papua New Guinea ranks 79th 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, one year before the official primary entry in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 42,791 | — |
| 1971 | 44,017 | +2.9% |
| 1972 | 45,106 | +2.5% |
| 1973 | 45,606 | +1.1% |
| 1974 | 45,818 | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 45,979 | +0.4% |
| 1976 | 46,199 | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 46,462 | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 46,875 | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 47,675 | +1.7% |
| 1980 | 48,164 | +1.0% |
| 1981 | 48,604 | +0.9% |
| 1982 | 49,526 | +1.9% |
| 1983 | 50,552 | +2.1% |
| 1984 | 51,569 | +2.0% |
| 1985 | 52,573 | +1.9% |
| 1986 | 53,636 | +2.0% |
| 1987 | 54,728 | +2.0% |
| 1988 | 55,639 | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 56,717 | +1.9% |
| 1990 | 58,210 | +2.6% |
| 1991 | 59,407 | +2.1% |
| 1992 | 61,240 | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 63,185 | +3.2% |
| 1994 | 65,281 | +3.3% |
| 1995 | 67,850 | +3.9% |
| 1996 | 70,050 | +3.2% |
| 1997 | 71,091 | +1.5% |
| 1998 | 72,474 | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 74,630 | +3.0% |
| 2000 | 77,063 | +3.3% |
| 2001 | 79,225 | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 80,937 | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 83,119 | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 85,324 | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 87,615 | +2.7% |
| 2006 | 90,166 | +2.9% |
| 2007 | 92,171 | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 94,826 | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 97,540 | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 100,064 | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 102,099 | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 104,218 | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 106,107 | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 107,976 | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 110,072 | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 111,881 | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 114,405 | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 116,243 | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 117,700 | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 119,274 | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 120,576 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 121,509 | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 122,279 | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 123,004 | +0.6% |
| 2025 | 124,201 | +1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 45,653 | 42,791 | 47,675 | 10 |
| 1980s | 52,171 | 48,164 | 56,717 | 10 |
| 1990s | 66,342 | 58,210 | 74,630 | 10 |
| 2000s | 86,799 | 77,063 | 97,540 | 10 |
| 2010s | 109,076 | 100,064 | 117,700 | 10 |
| 2020s | 121,807 | 119,274 | 124,201 | 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, one year before the official primary entry in Papua New Guinea?
- School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Papua New Guinea was 124,201 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 124,201 in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 42,791 in 1970.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for school age population, one year before the official primary entry?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 79th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.8%. 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, one year before the official primary entry age, male (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release