School age population, primary education, both sexes in Ghana
Ghana: School age population, primary education, both sexes was 4.95 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
4.95 million
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
30th
of 222 countries
All-time high
4.95 million
in 2025
All-time low
1.57 million
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Ghana, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Ghana recorded 4.95 million for school age population, primary education, both sexes in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 17.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Ghana peaked at 4.95 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.57 million, in 1970.
Ghana ranks 30th of 222 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Ghana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.57 million | — |
| 1971 | 1.64 million | +4.4% |
| 1972 | 1.71 million | +4.8% |
| 1973 | 1.79 million | +4.2% |
| 1974 | 1.83 million | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 1.87 million | +2.3% |
| 1976 | 1.91 million | +2.3% |
| 1977 | 1.95 million | +2.0% |
| 1978 | 1.97 million | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 2.00 million | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 2.03 million | +1.5% |
| 1981 | 2.07 million | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 2.10 million | +1.7% |
| 1983 | 2.13 million | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 2.19 million | +2.9% |
| 1985 | 2.27 million | +3.3% |
| 1986 | 2.35 million | +3.5% |
| 1987 | 2.40 million | +2.2% |
| 1988 | 2.45 million | +2.3% |
| 1989 | 2.54 million | +3.4% |
| 1990 | 2.62 million | +3.1% |
| 1991 | 2.68 million | +2.3% |
| 1992 | 2.73 million | +2.0% |
| 1993 | 2.81 million | +3.0% |
| 1994 | 2.89 million | +2.9% |
| 1995 | 2.95 million | +2.0% |
| 1996 | 3.00 million | +1.6% |
| 1997 | 3.05 million | +1.9% |
| 1998 | 3.11 million | +1.8% |
| 1999 | 3.16 million | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 3.20 million | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 3.24 million | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 3.28 million | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 3.31 million | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 3.34 million | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 3.38 million | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 3.43 million | +1.6% |
| 2007 | 3.51 million | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 3.59 million | +2.5% |
| 2009 | 3.69 million | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 3.79 million | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 3.88 million | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 3.98 million | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 4.06 million | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 4.14 million | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 4.21 million | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 4.28 million | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 4.37 million | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 4.46 million | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 4.56 million | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 4.66 million | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 4.76 million | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 4.85 million | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 4.91 million | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 4.94 million | +0.5% |
| 2025 | 4.95 million | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.82 million | 1.57 million | 2.00 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.25 million | 2.03 million | 2.54 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.90 million | 2.62 million | 3.16 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.40 million | 3.20 million | 3.69 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.17 million | 3.79 million | 4.56 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.84 million | 4.66 million | 4.95 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More education data for Ghana
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,023 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, both sexes in Ghana?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Ghana was 4.95 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 4.95 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.57 million in 1970.
- How does Ghana rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Ghana ranks 30th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, primary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release