Official entrance age to compulsory education in Ghana
Ghana: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 4 years in 2019. ▼ Falling
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Ghana, 1998–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Ghana recorded 4 years for official entrance age to compulsory education in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to compulsory education in Ghana peaked at 6 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 4 years, in 2007.
Ghana ranks 170th of 195 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Ghana, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 6 years | — |
| 1999 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 4 years | -33.3% |
| 2008 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 5.4 years | 4 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
- 170 Argentina 4 years compare
- 170 Aruba 4 years compare
- 170 Bolivia 4 years compare
- 170 Brazil 4 years compare
- 170 Cayman Islands 4 years compare
- 170 Costa Rica 4 years compare
- 170 Curacao 4 years compare
- 170 Hungary 4 years compare
- 170 Luxembourg 4 years compare
- 170 Mexico 4 years compare
- 170 Nauru 4 years compare
- 170 Panama 4 years compare
- 170 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 4 years compare
- 170 Tonga 4 years compare
- 170 Turks and Caicos Islands 4 years compare
- 170 Uruguay 4 years compare
More education data for Ghana
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,023 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 122,558 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 60.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 35.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in Ghana?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in Ghana was 4 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 6 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 years in 2007.
- How does Ghana rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- Ghana ranks 170th out of 195 countries with data for 2019.
- Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Official entrance age to compulsory education (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Official age when students should enter compulsory education assuming they start at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, study full-time throughout and progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade. The theoretical entrance age to a given programme or level is typically, but not always, the most common entrance age.