School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) was 7.39 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea stood at 7.39 years. That is the highest value across all 44 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 10.9% on the previous year and up 18.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea peaked at 7.39 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 2.8 years, in 1971.
That places Papua New Guinea 21st out of 218 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 44 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.81 years | — |
| 1971 | 2.8 years | -0.6% |
| 1972 | 2.83 years | +1.2% |
| 1973 | 2.93 years | +3.3% |
| 1974 | 2.99 years | +2.2% |
| 1975 | 3.03 years | +1.3% |
| 1976 | 3.13 years | +3.3% |
| 1977 | 3.12 years | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 3.2 years | +2.4% |
| 1979 | 3.34 years | +4.5% |
| 1980 | 3.57 years | +6.8% |
| 1981 | 3.54 years | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 3.64 years | +2.6% |
| 1984 | 3.91 years | +7.6% |
| 1986 | 4.03 years | +3.1% |
| 1987 | 4.08 years | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 4.14 years | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 4.24 years | +2.4% |
| 1990 | 4.17 years | -1.7% |
| 1991 | 4.13 years | -0.9% |
| 1992 | 4.2 years | +1.7% |
| 1993 | 4.37 years | +4.1% |
| 1994 | 4.46 years | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 4.41 years | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 4.33 years | -1.8% |
| 1997 | 4.29 years | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 4.48 years | +4.6% |
| 2000 | 4.1 years | -8.5% |
| 2001 | 3.72 years | -9.4% |
| 2002 | 3.58 years | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 3.37 years | -5.8% |
| 2004 | 3.36 years | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 3.42 years | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 3.33 years | -2.6% |
| 2008 | 3.57 years | +7.0% |
| 2012 | 6.23 years | +74.8% |
| 2014 | 6.41 years | +2.9% |
| 2016 | 6.4 years | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 6.72 years | +4.9% |
| 2019 | 6.43 years | -4.3% |
| 2020 | 6.21 years | -3.5% |
| 2021 | 6.2 years | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 6.67 years | +7.5% |
| 2023 | 7.39 years | +10.9% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 7.39 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.02 years, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 7.39 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 6.02 years, 1.2× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in Papua New Guinea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +74.8% | 3.57 years | 6.23 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.02 years | 2.8 years | 3.34 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.89 years | 3.54 years | 4.24 years | 8 |
| 1990s | 4.31 years | 4.13 years | 4.48 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 3.56 years | 3.33 years | 4.1 years | 8 |
| 2010s | 6.44 years | 6.23 years | 6.72 years | 5 |
| 2020s | 6.62 years | 6.2 years | 7.39 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 18 United States Virgin Islands 7.45 years compare
- 19 Uganda 7.44 years compare
- 20 Turks and Caicos Islands 7.41 years compare
- 22 East Timor 7.22 years compare
- 23 American Samoa 7.19 years compare
- 24 Guinea-Bissau 7.13 years compare
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, both sexes in Papua New Guinea?
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea was 7.39 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 7.39 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.8 years in 1971.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 21st out of 218 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.5%. 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, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 44 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release