Official entrance age to compulsory education in Ghana
Ghana: Official entrance age to compulsory education 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 166th out of 200 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 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% |
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
- 166 Argentina 4 compare
- 166 Aruba 4 compare
- 166 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 4 compare
- 166 Brazil 4 compare
- 166 Bulgaria 4 compare
- 166 Cayman Islands 4 compare
- 166 Costa Rica 4 compare
- 166 Curaçao 4 compare
- 166 Gibraltar 4 compare
- 166 Hungary 4 compare
- 166 Luxembourg 4 compare
- 166 Maldives 4 compare
- 166 Mexico 4 compare
- 166 Naoero 4 compare
- 166 Nepal 4 compare
- 166 Panama 4 compare
- 166 Sint Maarten 4 compare
- 166 Switzerland 4 compare
- 166 Tonga 4 compare
- 166 Turks and Caicos Islands 4 compare
- 166 Uruguay 4 compare
More education data for Ghana
- 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)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 100.97 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 101.0% (2024)
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 166th out of 200 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).