Official entrance age to compulsory education (Official Our World) in Ghana
Ghana: Official entrance age to compulsory education (Official Our World) was 4 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Ghana, 1998–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for official entrance age to compulsory education in Ghana is 4, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to compulsory education in Ghana peaked at 6 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 4, in 2007.
That places Ghana 171st out of 205 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
Official entrance age to compulsory education (Official Our World) in Ghana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 6 | — |
| 1999 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 4 | -33.3% |
| 2008 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 | +0.0% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 4 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6, 67% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 4 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6, 67% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| 2000s | 5.4 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
- 171 Argentina 4 compare
- 171 Aruba 4 compare
- 171 Bolivia 4 compare
- 171 Brazil 4 compare
- 171 Bulgaria 4 compare
- 171 Cayman Islands 4 compare
- 171 Costa Rica 4 compare
- 171 Curacao 4 compare
- 171 Gibraltar 4 compare
- 171 Hungary 4 compare
- 171 Luxembourg 4 compare
- 171 Maldives 4 compare
- 171 Mexico 4 compare
- 171 Nauru 4 compare
- 171 Nepal 4 compare
- 171 Panama 4 compare
- 171 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 4 compare
- 171 Switzerland 4 compare
- 171 Tonga 4 compare
- 171 Turks and Caicos Islands 4 compare
- 171 Uruguay 4 compare
More education data for Ghana
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 95.93 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 95.23 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 174,414 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 39,902 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 949,095 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 913,117 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.33 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.6567 % change on previous year (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in Ghana?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in Ghana was 4 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 6 in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 in 2007.
- How does Ghana rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- Ghana ranks 171st out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Official entrance age to compulsory education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).