School completion in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: School completion was 65.98 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
65.98
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
145th
of 165 countries
All-time high
65.98
in 2025
All-time low
41.29
in 1981
Years of data
45
1981–2025
School completion in Papua New Guinea, 1981–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school completion in Papua New Guinea is 65.98, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 8.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school completion in Papua New Guinea peaked at 65.98 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 41.29, in 1981.
Papua New Guinea ranks 145th of 165 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
School completion in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 41.29 | — |
| 1982 | 41.83 | +1.3% |
| 1983 | 42.27 | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 42.71 | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 43.15 | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 43.56 | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 44.08 | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 44.83 | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 45.59 | +1.7% |
| 1990 | 46.39 | +1.8% |
| 1991 | 47.1 | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 47.71 | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 48.2 | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 48.54 | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 48.83 | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 49.12 | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 49.5 | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 50.07 | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 50.67 | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 51.3 | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 51.84 | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 52.35 | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 52.93 | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 53.46 | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 54.07 | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 54.68 | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 55.2 | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 55.79 | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 56.52 | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 57.39 | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 58.25 | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 59.12 | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 59.83 | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 60.47 | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 61.01 | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 61.49 | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 61.93 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 62.39 | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 62.9 | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 63.36 | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 63.91 | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 64.44 | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 64.97 | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 65.52 | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 65.98 | +0.7% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 65.98 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 86.1, 77% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 65.98 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 98.58, 67% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 43.26 | 41.29 | 45.59 | 9 |
| 1990s | 48.61 | 46.39 | 50.67 | 10 |
| 2000s | 53.81 | 51.3 | 56.52 | 10 |
| 2010s | 60.48 | 57.39 | 62.9 | 10 |
| 2020s | 64.7 | 63.36 | 65.98 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More education data for Papua New Guinea
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 96.03 (2020)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 96 (2021)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school completion in Papua New Guinea?
- School completion in Papua New Guinea was 65.98 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest school completion recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 65.98 in 2025.
- What is the lowest school completion recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 41.29 in 1981.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for school completion?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 145th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school completion rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of School completion. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).