School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Ghana
Ghana: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 11.87 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Ghana, 1971–2019
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Ghana is 11.87 years, measured in 2019. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.3% on the previous year and up 17.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Ghana peaked at 11.87 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 6.2 years, in 1975.
That places Ghana 125th out of 183 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Ghana, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 6.82 years | — |
| 1973 | 6.54 years | -4.0% |
| 1974 | 6.27 years | -4.2% |
| 1975 | 6.2 years | -1.2% |
| 1976 | 6.47 years | +4.5% |
| 1982 | 7.05 years | +8.9% |
| 1999 | 7.45 years | +5.8% |
| 2000 | 7.74 years | +3.9% |
| 2001 | 7.33 years | -5.3% |
| 2002 | 7.62 years | +3.9% |
| 2003 | 7.46 years | -2.0% |
| 2004 | 7.84 years | +5.1% |
| 2005 | 8.44 years | +7.6% |
| 2006 | 8.82 years | +4.5% |
| 2007 | 9.45 years | +7.2% |
| 2008 | 10.03 years | +6.1% |
| 2009 | 10.14 years | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 10.88 years | +7.3% |
| 2012 | 11.14 years | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 11.35 years | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 11.05 years | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 11.56 years | +4.6% |
| 2016 | 11.52 years | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 11.47 years | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 11.48 years | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 11.87 years | +3.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.46 years | 6.2 years | 6.82 years | 5 |
| 1980s | 7.05 years | 7.05 years | 7.05 years | 1 |
| 1990s | 7.45 years | 7.45 years | 7.45 years | 1 |
| 2000s | 8.49 years | 7.33 years | 10.14 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.37 years | 10.88 years | 11.87 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
- 122 Cayman Islands 12.03 years compare
- 123 Samoa 12 years compare
- 124 British Virgin Islands 11.97 years compare
- 126 Kiribati 11.82 years compare
- 127 Bahamas 11.72 years compare
- 128 El Salvador 11.59 years compare
More education data for Ghana
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Ghana?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Ghana was 11.87 years in 2019, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 11.87 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.2 years in 1975.
- How does Ghana rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Ghana ranks 125th out of 183 countries with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Expected years of schooling is the number of years a child of school entrance age is expected to spend at school, or university, including years spent on repetition. It is the sum of the age-specific enrolment ratios for primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary education.