Papua New Guinea's government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) was 0.78% in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 1.09 percentage points from 1.87% in 2018.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 0.78% | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 1.87% | 2018 |
| Highest | 7.39% | 1977 |
| Lowest | 0.64% | 2022 |
| Average since 2015 | 1.12% | 2015–2023 |
| First recorded | 5.25% | 1972 |
Over five years it is down 1.09 percentage points from 1.87% in 2018. Since 1972 it is down 4.47 percentage points from 5.25% in 1972. The World Bank has no value for 41 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.
What the numbers say
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.11 percentage points in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.11 percentage points in 2019. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.12 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 41% of the movement over 9 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2023, Papua New Guinea had the 75th highest value of the 75 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea | 0.78% | 2023 |
| World | 3.57% | 2023 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 3.51% | 2023 |
| Lower middle income | 3.39% | 2023 |
Closest to Papua New Guinea in the 2023 ranking
What this measures
General government expenditure on education (current, capital, and transfers) is expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments.
Limitations: Data may refer to spending by the ministry of education only (excluding spending on educational activities by other ministries).
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.
All 11 values
| Year | Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 0.7821 |
| 2022 | 0.6434 |
| 2021 | 0.714 |
| 2020 | 0.898 |
| 2019 | 0.7618 |
| 2018 | 1.87 |
| 2017 | 1.96 |
| 2016 | 0.8538 |
| 2015 | 1.63 |
| 2014 | no data |
| 2013 |
Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) in nearby economies
- Australia — 5.06% (2022)
- Brunei Darussalam — 4.43% (2016)
- Cambodia — 2.18% (2023)
- China — 3.9% (2023)
- Fiji — 4.25% (2023)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 3.81% (2024)
- Indonesia — 1.28% (2023)
- Japan — 3.34% (2021)
- Kiribati — 16.39% (2023)
- Korea, Rep.
More education data for Papua New Guinea
- Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 13 (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils — 1.65 million (2023)
- School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 121.09% (2023)
- School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 118.92% (2023)
- School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 123.09% (2023)
- School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.93 (2018)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Papua New Guinea's government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP)?
- 0.78% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1972?
- It is down 4.47 percentage points from 5.25% in 1972. The highest value was 7.39% in 1977 and the lowest 0.64% in 2022.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank?
- 75th highest of 75 economies with data for 2023.
- Where does this data come from?
- The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API..
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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