Papua New Guinea: Primary education, teachers (% female)

Key figures

Since 1971 it is up 22.59 percentage points from 26.76% in 1971. The World Bank has no value for 29 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 7.45 percentage points in 1989 and the biggest yearly fall was 7.47 percentage points in 1988. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those 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 34th highest value of the 37 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.

Closest to Papua New Guinea in the 2023 ranking

• Türkiye — 30th of 37: 61.36%
• Kenya — 31st of 37: 60.49%
• Timor-Leste — 32nd of 37: 52.8%
• Afghanistan — 34th of 37: 41.64%
• Djibouti — 35th of 37: 37.39%
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 36th of 37: 32.35%

What this measures

Female teachers as a percentage of total primary education teachers includes full-time and part-time teachers.

Limitations: The indicator measures the level of gender representation in the teaching profession, rather than the effectiveness and quality of teaching.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 24 values

Primary education, teachers (% female) in nearby economies

• Brunei Darussalam — 77.77% (2024)
• Cambodia — 60.14% (2024)
• China — 74.51% (2024)
• Fiji — 64.64% (2024)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 76.08% (2024)
• Indonesia — 72.37% (2025)
• Kiribati — 84.33% (2024)
• Korea, Rep. — 76.66% (2024)
• Lao PDR — 54.89% (2025)
• Macao SAR, China — 81.11% (2024)
• Malaysia

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

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Papua New Guinea's primary education, teachers (% female)?

49.35% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 22.59 percentage points from 26.76% in 1971. The highest value was 49.42% in 2016 and the lowest 22.81% in 1975.

How does Papua New Guinea rank?

34th highest of 37 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.PRM.TCHR.FE.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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