Ghana: Secondary education, general pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Ghana's secondary education, general pupils rose 6.5% on 2018 (from 2.61 million to 2.77 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1983 to 2018), the average change was +3.8% and a typical year strayed about 4.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 9.7% in 2004 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.9% in 1989. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2019 the straight-line trend is upward, about 80,048 a year. A straight line explains 95% of the movement over 9 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 3.02 million for 2022. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2017 to 2019 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 102,696, against 165,035 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Ghana in the 2019 ranking

• Nepal — 1st of 5: 3.42 million
• Kazakhstan — 3rd of 5: 1.72 million
• Djibouti — 4th of 5: 60,822
• Monaco — 5th of 5: 3,075

What this measures

Secondary general pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in general education programs, including teacher training.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 45 values

Secondary education, general pupils in nearby economies

• Angola — 1.75 million (2016)
• Benin — 965,124 (2016)
• Botswana — 169,489 (2015)
• Burkina Faso — 1.25 million (2018)
• Burundi — 606,024 (2018)
• Cabo Verde — 52,143 (2018)
• Cameroon — 1.73 million (2016)
• Central African Republic — 132,695 (2017)
• Chad — 527,321 (2016)
• Comoros — 73,695 (2018)
• Congo, Dem. Rep.

More education data for Ghana

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 4.98 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 100.97% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 100.67% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 101.25% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 122,558 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.02 (2020)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Ghana's secondary education, general pupils?

2.77 million in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 448.53% from 505,784 in 1971 (3.61% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 2.77 million in 2019 and the lowest 505,784 in 1971.

Is the latest change in secondary education, general pupils unusual for Ghana?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.ENRL.GC, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.