Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Ghana
Ghana: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 30.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
30.7%
Change on year
up 52.2%
World rank
37th
of 179 countries
All-time high
54.5%
in 1999
All-time low
19.9%
in 2020
Years of data
20
1999–2024
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Ghana, 1999–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Ghana stood at 30.7%.
That represents a change of up 52.2% on the previous year and up 4.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Ghana peaked at 54.5% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 19.9%, in 2020.
Ghana ranks 37th of 179 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Ghana, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 54.5% | — |
| 2000 | 53.4% | -2.1% |
| 2001 | 54.4% | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 51.9% | -4.7% |
| 2003 | 54.1% | +4.3% |
| 2005 | 45.6% | -15.7% |
| 2006 | 38.8% | -14.9% |
| 2007 | 33.4% | -14.0% |
| 2008 | 32.0% | -4.3% |
| 2009 | 32.4% | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 24.3% | -24.9% |
| 2014 | 29.5% | +21.1% |
| 2015 | 29.1% | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 26.5% | -8.9% |
| 2017 | 27.2% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 27.0% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 22.8% | -15.6% |
| 2020 | 19.9% | -12.5% |
| 2021 | 20.2% | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 30.7% | +52.2% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 30.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 25.6%, 1.2× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 30.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 38.8%, 79% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 54.5% | 54.5% | 54.5% | 1 |
| 2000s | 44.0% | 32.0% | 54.4% | 9 |
| 2010s | 26.6% | 22.8% | 29.5% | 7 |
| 2020s | 23.6% | 19.9% | 30.7% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
- 34 El Salvador 34.9% compare
- 35 Cambodia 33.3% compare
- 36 Micronesia, Federated States of 31.2% compare
- 38 Guyana 30.5% compare
- 39 Solomon Islands 30.4% compare
- 40 India 29.8% compare
More education data for Ghana
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1448 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Ghana?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Ghana was 30.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 54.5% in 1999.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.9% in 2020.
- How does Ghana rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
- Ghana ranks 37th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.2%. 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 Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release