Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Ghana
Ghana: Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes was 1.23 million in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Ghana, 1999–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Ghana recorded 1.23 million for out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in 2024.
That represents a change of up 82.7% on the previous year and up 68.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Ghana peaked at 1.30 million in 2003 and was at its lowest, 553,361, in 2020.
That places Ghana 16th out of 184 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Ghana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1.10 million | — |
| 2000 | 1.13 million | +3.2% |
| 2001 | 1.19 million | +5.3% |
| 2002 | 1.20 million | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 1.30 million | +7.7% |
| 2005 | 1.23 million | -4.9% |
| 2006 | 1.09 million | -11.5% |
| 2007 | 855,977 | -21.5% |
| 2008 | 868,148 | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 911,787 | +5.0% |
| 2013 | 613,776 | -32.7% |
| 2014 | 732,576 | +19.4% |
| 2015 | 661,141 | -9.8% |
| 2016 | 689,625 | +4.3% |
| 2017 | 724,191 | +5.0% |
| 2018 | 658,598 | -9.1% |
| 2019 | 598,459 | -9.1% |
| 2020 | 553,361 | -7.5% |
| 2021 | 675,709 | +22.1% |
| 2024 | 1.23 million | +82.7% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 1.23 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 252,390, 4.9× the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 1.23 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 520,818, 2.4× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | +82.7% | 675,709 | 1.23 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.10 million | 1.10 million | 1.10 million | 1 |
| 2000s | 1.09 million | 855,977 | 1.30 million | 9 |
| 2010s | 668,338 | 598,459 | 732,576 | 7 |
| 2020s | 821,120 | 553,361 | 1.23 million | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
- 13 Russian Federation 1.35 million compare
- 14 Yemen 1.33 million compare
- 15 Syrian Arab Republic 1.28 million compare
- 17 Burkina Faso 1.21 million compare
- 18 Cameroon 1.17 million compare
- 19 Chad 1.05 million 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 youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Ghana?
- Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Ghana was 1.23 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 1.30 million in 2003.
- What is the lowest out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 553,361 in 2020.
- How does Ghana rank for out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes?
- Ghana ranks 16th out of 184 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 68.5%. 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 youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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