School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 10.58 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea is 10.58 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 16.2% on the previous year and up 25.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea peaked at 10.58 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3.32 years, in 1970.
Papua New Guinea ranks 148th of 213 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3.32 years | — |
| 1971 | 3.32 years | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 3.43 years | +3.2% |
| 1973 | 3.55 years | +3.7% |
| 1974 | 3.63 years | +2.1% |
| 1975 | 3.74 years | +3.0% |
| 1976 | 3.83 years | +2.6% |
| 1977 | 3.8 years | -0.8% |
| 1978 | 3.85 years | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 4 years | +4.0% |
| 1981 | 4.23 years | +5.6% |
| 1982 | 4.32 years | +2.2% |
| 1984 | 4.64 years | +7.5% |
| 1986 | 4.77 years | +2.8% |
| 1987 | 4.87 years | +2.0% |
| 1988 | 4.94 years | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 5.04 years | +2.0% |
| 1990 | 4.94 years | -2.1% |
| 1991 | 4.91 years | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 4.97 years | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 5.2 years | +4.7% |
| 1994 | 5.32 years | +2.3% |
| 1995 | 5.19 years | -2.4% |
| 1998 | 5.68 years | +9.4% |
| 2000 | 5.39 years | -5.2% |
| 2012 | 8.46 years | +57.0% |
| 2018 | 9.44 years | +11.6% |
| 2019 | 9.37 years | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 8.98 years | -4.2% |
| 2021 | 9.11 years | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 10.58 years | +16.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.65 years | 3.32 years | 4 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.69 years | 4.23 years | 5.04 years | 7 |
| 1990s | 5.17 years | 4.91 years | 5.68 years | 7 |
| 2000s | 5.39 years | 5.39 years | 5.39 years | 1 |
| 2010s | 9.09 years | 8.46 years | 9.44 years | 3 |
| 2020s | 9.56 years | 8.98 years | 10.58 years | 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 school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea was 10.58 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 10.58 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.32 years in 1970.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 148th out of 213 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.1%. 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, published as part of School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release