Ghana: Tertiary education, academic staff (% female)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Ghana's tertiary education, academic staff (% female) fell 1.27 percentage points on 2023 (from 26.73% to 25.46%).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (1972 to 2023), the average change was +0.61 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.92 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.11 percentage points in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.27 percentage points in 2024. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.7 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 91% 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 28.33% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.68%, against 0.89% 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

In 2024, Ghana had the 56th highest value of the 61 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Ghana in the 2024 ranking

• Tanzania — 53rd of 61: 30.34%
• Bangladesh — 54th of 61: 29.11%
• Cameroon — 55th of 61: 26.79%
• Cambodia — 57th of 61: 24.45%
• Rwanda — 58th of 61: 20.51%
• Côte d'Ivoire — 59th of 61: 14.01%

What this measures

Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) is the share of female academic staff in tertiary education.

Limitations: The indicator measures the level of gender representation in the teaching profession, rather than the effectiveness and quality of teaching.

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

All 16 values

Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) in nearby economies

• Benin — 20.13% (2018)
• Botswana — 41.52% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 9.6% (2024)
• Burundi — 14.52% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 39.08% (2018)
• Cameroon — 26.79% (2024)
• Chad — 7.88% (2020)
• Congo, Rep. — 13.27% (2017)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 14.01% (2024)
• Eritrea — 13.77% (2016)

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 tertiary education, academic staff (% female)?

25.46% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 16.26 percentage points from 9.2% in 1971. The highest value was 26.73% in 2023 and the lowest 8.55% in 1972.

How does Ghana rank?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.TER.TCHR.FE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. 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.

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