School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) was 3.19 years in 2023. ◆ Volatile
School life expectancy, 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, secondary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea is 3.19 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.9% on the previous year and up 43.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea peaked at 3.19 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.502 years, in 1970.
That places Papua New Guinea 181st out of 214 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.502 years | — |
| 1971 | 0.525 years | +4.6% |
| 1972 | 0.5952 years | +13.4% |
| 1973 | 0.628 years | +5.5% |
| 1974 | 0.6396 years | +1.8% |
| 1975 | 0.7071 years | +10.6% |
| 1976 | 0.7036 years | -0.5% |
| 1977 | 0.6795 years | -3.4% |
| 1978 | 0.65 years | -4.3% |
| 1979 | 0.6588 years | +1.4% |
| 1981 | 0.6832 years | +3.7% |
| 1982 | 0.6837 years | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 0.7311 years | +6.9% |
| 1986 | 0.7387 years | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 0.7898 years | +6.9% |
| 1988 | 0.8021 years | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 0.8044 years | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 0.7721 years | -4.0% |
| 1991 | 0.7851 years | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 0.7713 years | -1.8% |
| 1993 | 0.8305 years | +7.7% |
| 1994 | 0.8597 years | +3.5% |
| 1995 | 0.7861 years | -8.6% |
| 1998 | 1.2 years | +52.1% |
| 1999 | 1.22 years | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 1.28 years | +5.2% |
| 2012 | 2.22 years | +73.1% |
| 2018 | 2.72 years | +22.5% |
| 2019 | 2.94 years | +7.8% |
| 2020 | 2.77 years | -5.7% |
| 2021 | 2.91 years | +4.9% |
| 2023 | 3.19 years | +9.9% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 3.19 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.2 years, 76% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 3.19 years is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.77 years, 55% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life 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 | +73.1% | 1.28 years | 2.22 years |
| 1998 | +52.1% | 0.7861 years | 1.2 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.6289 years | 0.502 years | 0.7071 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7476 years | 0.6832 years | 0.8044 years | 7 |
| 1990s | 0.9027 years | 0.7713 years | 1.22 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 1.28 years | 1.28 years | 1.28 years | 1 |
| 2010s | 2.63 years | 2.22 years | 2.94 years | 3 |
| 2020s | 2.96 years | 2.77 years | 3.19 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, secondary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Papua New Guinea was 3.19 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 3.19 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.502 years in 1970.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 181st out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release