School age population, primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: School age population, primary education, both sexes was 1.39 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
1.39 million
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
80th
of 222 countries
All-time high
1.39 million
in 2025
All-time low
407,309
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 1.39 million for school age population, primary education, both sexes in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 16.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea peaked at 1.39 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 407,309, in 1970.
That places Papua New Guinea 80th out of 222 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 407,309 | — |
| 1971 | 419,957 | +3.1% |
| 1972 | 432,533 | +3.0% |
| 1973 | 447,449 | +3.4% |
| 1974 | 460,754 | +3.0% |
| 1975 | 471,962 | +2.4% |
| 1976 | 480,848 | +1.9% |
| 1977 | 488,099 | +1.5% |
| 1978 | 493,691 | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 498,565 | +1.0% |
| 1980 | 503,566 | +1.0% |
| 1981 | 508,752 | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 517,781 | +1.8% |
| 1983 | 527,088 | +1.8% |
| 1984 | 536,794 | +1.8% |
| 1985 | 546,699 | +1.8% |
| 1986 | 556,159 | +1.7% |
| 1987 | 565,817 | +1.7% |
| 1988 | 575,842 | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 586,068 | +1.8% |
| 1990 | 597,663 | +2.0% |
| 1991 | 613,744 | +2.7% |
| 1992 | 633,923 | +3.3% |
| 1993 | 656,343 | +3.5% |
| 1994 | 679,513 | +3.5% |
| 1995 | 703,633 | +3.5% |
| 1996 | 729,026 | +3.6% |
| 1997 | 754,048 | +3.4% |
| 1998 | 776,764 | +3.0% |
| 1999 | 797,511 | +2.7% |
| 2000 | 818,622 | +2.6% |
| 2001 | 840,201 | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 862,661 | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 883,897 | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 907,349 | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 932,430 | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 957,949 | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 984,033 | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 1.01 million | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 1.04 million | +2.8% |
| 2010 | 1.07 million | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 1.10 million | +2.7% |
| 2012 | 1.12 million | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 1.15 million | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 1.17 million | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 1.20 million | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 1.22 million | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 1.24 million | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 1.27 million | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 1.29 million | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 1.31 million | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 1.33 million | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 1.35 million | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 1.37 million | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 1.38 million | +1.0% |
| 2025 | 1.39 million | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 460,117 | 407,309 | 498,565 | 10 |
| 1980s | 542,457 | 503,566 | 586,068 | 10 |
| 1990s | 694,217 | 597,663 | 797,511 | 10 |
| 2000s | 923,568 | 818,622 | 1.04 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.18 million | 1.07 million | 1.29 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.36 million | 1.31 million | 1.39 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
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 school age population, primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Papua New Guinea was 1.39 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 1.39 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 407,309 in 1970.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 80th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.4%. 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, 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