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Education · East Asia & Pacific · Lower-middle income
Papua New Guinea: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 45.8% (2018), 120th of 176 in the world and 23rd of 30 in East Asia & Pacific. Primary enrolment is 121.1% (2023), 9th of 191 in the world and 1st of 30 in East Asia & Pacific. Primary completion is 82.7% (2023), 130th of 168 in the world and 24th of 26 in East Asia & Pacific.
Primary enrolment
Papua New GuineaEast Asia & PacificLower-middle incomeWorld
Primary completion
Papua New GuineaEast Asia & PacificLower-middle incomeWorld
11 indicators
Education: Papua New Guinea in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within East Asia & Pacific; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolmentPre-primary enrolment, % gross | 45.8%2018 | 120/176 | 23/30 | 58.1%2002 | 95.8%2008 | 45.8%2018 | −49.9 ppsince 2008 | 83.2% | 58.5% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 121.1%2023 | 9/191 | 1/30 | 68.4% | 100.9%2012 | 102.1% | +20.2 ppsince 2012 | 100.0% | 105.4% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 82.7%2023 | 130/168 | 24/26 | 52.2% | · | 81.0%2021 | +28.2 ppsince 2003 | 95.4% | 88.0% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 52.1%2023 | 153/176 | 25/26 | 19.9%1998 | 37.1%2012 | 44.6% | +15.0 ppsince 2012 | 92.0% | 68.0% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 41.9%2023 | 154/168 | 26/26 | 27.9%1998 | 59.2%2012 | 35.6%2021 | −17.3 ppsince 2012 | 97.3% | 73.7% | 77.9% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 4.0%2021 | 84/178 | 11/29 | · | 30.2%2012 | 3.2% | — | — | 8.3% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 87.0%2022 | 94/141 | 20/23 | 57.3% | 69.0% | 87.0%2022 | +18.0 ppsince 2010 | 96.6% | 78.3% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 91.9%2022 | 107/148 | 19/23 | 66.7% | 81.2% | 91.9%2022 | +10.8 ppsince 2010 | 99.1% | 91.9% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 35.52016 | 28/173 | 3/27 | 35.4 | · | · | −1.9%since 2001 | 17.5 | 28.9 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 0.8%2023 | 181/184 | 29/29 | · | · | 0.9% | — | 3.5% | 3.4% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 3.5%2023 | 177/179 | 28/28 | · | · | 3.8% | — | 13.0% | 13.6% | 14.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Primary completion+28.2 pp82.7% in 2023
- Secondary enrolment+15.0 pp52.1% in 2023
- Adult literacy+18.0 pp87.0% in 2022
- Youth literacy+10.8 pp91.9% in 2022
Worse than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment−49.9 pp45.8% in 2018
- Lower secondary completion−17.3 pp41.9% in 2023
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Papua New Guinea and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Papua New Guinea. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Papua New Guinea | Indonesia | Australia | Solomon Islands | Micronesia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 45.8%2018 | 62.3%2018 | 160.2%2020 | 93.3%2019 | 5.9%2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 121.1%2023 | 100.4%2025 | 99.6%2024 | 81.8%2024 | 82.2%2024 |
| Primary completion | 82.7%2023 | 100.0%2023 | — | 70.5%2024 | 78.9%2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 52.1%2023 | 97.2%2025 | 131.9%2024 | 49.0%2012 | 87.3%2005 |
| Lower secondary completion | 41.9%2023 | 99.7%2025 | — | 57.8%2023 | 75.1%2024 |
| Out-of-school children | 4.0%2021 | 0.9%2025 | 0.1%2024 | 30.1%2024 | 23.1%2024 |
| Adult literacy | 87.0%2022 | 96.0%2020 | — | — | — |
| Youth literacy | 91.9%2022 | 93.8%2022 | — | — | — |
| Pupils per teacher | 35.52016 | 17.02018 | — | 25.42018 | 19.72015 |