Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Ghana
Ghana: Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary was 2.0% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Ghana, 2007–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ghana recorded 2.0% for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
The figure is down 72.4% on the previous year and down 53.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Ghana peaked at 36.2% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 2.0%, in 2024.
Ghana ranks 137th of 175 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Ghana, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 36.2% | — |
| 2008 | 28.6% | -21.0% |
| 2009 | 27.6% | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 25.3% | -8.5% |
| 2013 | 17.6% | -30.6% |
| 2014 | 4.2% | -75.9% |
| 2015 | 8.5% | +100.7% |
| 2016 | 31.5% | +271.9% |
| 2017 | 22.1% | -29.7% |
| 2018 | 12.9% | -41.6% |
| 2019 | 18.1% | +39.8% |
| 2020 | 10.9% | -39.9% |
| 2021 | 7.1% | -34.9% |
| 2024 | 2.0% | -72.4% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 2.0% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 34.0%, 6% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 2.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 43.1%, 5% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Ghana changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +271.9% | 8.5% | 31.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 30.8% | 27.6% | 36.2% | 3 |
| 2010s | 17.5% | 4.2% | 31.5% | 8 |
| 2020s | 6.6% | 2.0% | 10.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
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 children one year before the official primary in Ghana?
- Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Ghana was 2.0% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 36.2% in 2007.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.0% in 2024.
- How does Ghana rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- Ghana ranks 137th out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 53.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary entry age, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release