Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school was 16.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Papua New Guinea, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Papua New Guinea stood at 16.0%.
That represents a change of up 2.6% on the previous year and down 7.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Papua New Guinea peaked at 35.9% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 15.6%, in 2021.
Papua New Guinea ranks 164th of 178 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 35.9% | — |
| 2016 | 17.2% | -52.1% |
| 2018 | 16.1% | -6.4% |
| 2019 | 17.4% | +8.3% |
| 2020 | 16.8% | -3.7% |
| 2021 | 15.6% | -7.1% |
| 2023 | 16.0% | +2.6% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 16.0% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 33.8%, 47% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 16.0% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 68.1%, 23% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 35.9% | 35.9% | 35.9% | 1 |
| 2010s | 16.9% | 16.1% | 17.4% | 3 |
| 2020s | 16.1% | 15.6% | 16.8% | 3 |
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 enrolled in pre-primary school in Papua New Guinea?
- Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Papua New Guinea was 16.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 35.9% in 1998.
- What is the lowest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.6% in 2021.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 164th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 enrolled in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of pre-primary school age (typically 3–5 years old) who are enrolled in pre-primary education.