Share of children who have completed primary school in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Share of children who have completed primary school was 66.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of children who have completed primary school in Papua New Guinea, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children who have completed primary school in Papua New Guinea is 66.0%, 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, share of children who have completed primary school in Papua New Guinea peaked at 66.0% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 41.3%, 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.
Share of children who have completed primary school in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 41.3% | — |
| 1982 | 41.8% | +1.3% |
| 1983 | 42.3% | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 42.7% | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 43.1% | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 43.6% | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 44.1% | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 44.8% | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 45.6% | +1.7% |
| 1990 | 46.4% | +1.8% |
| 1991 | 47.1% | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 47.7% | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 48.2% | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 48.5% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 48.8% | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 49.1% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 49.5% | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 50.1% | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 50.7% | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 51.3% | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 51.8% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 52.4% | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 52.9% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 53.5% | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 54.1% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 54.7% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 55.2% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 55.8% | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 56.5% | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 57.4% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 58.2% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 59.1% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 59.8% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 60.5% | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 61.0% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 61.5% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 61.9% | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 62.4% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 62.9% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 63.4% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 63.9% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 64.4% | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 65.0% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 65.5% | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 66.0% | +0.7% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 66.0% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 86.1%, 77% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 66.0% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 98.6%, 67% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 43.3% | 41.3% | 45.6% | 9 |
| 1990s | 48.6% | 46.4% | 50.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 53.8% | 51.3% | 56.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 60.5% | 57.4% | 62.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 64.7% | 63.4% | 66.0% | 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 share of children who have completed primary school in Papua New Guinea?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Papua New Guinea was 66.0% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 66.0% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 41.3% in 1981.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 145th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school 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 UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who have completed primary school. 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).
About this data
Share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.