WASSCE results statistics in Ghana, 2016 to 2025
461,736 candidates were entered for WASSCE in 2025, 68 percent more than in 2016. The share with a credit in core maths fell to 48.73 percent that year.
WASSCE school candidates entered, 2016 to 2025
Published by the exam board or ministryAs reported in the press
Candidates entered each year. Change from 2016 to 2025: up 68 percent (our calculation). Sources: WAEC press releases for 2023 and 2024, press reports of WAEC statements for the other years.
The figures
| WASSCE school candidates entered | |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 274,262 |
| 2017 | 289,210 |
| 2018 | 316,999 |
| 2019 | 346,094 |
| 2020 | 375,763 |
| 2021 | 446,352 |
| 2022 | 422,883 |
| 2023 | 448,674 |
| 2024 | 460,611 |
| 2025 | 461,736 |
Share of candidates with a credit (A1 to C6), by core subject
English language: share of candidates with a credit (A1 to C6)
Core mathematics: share of candidates with a credit (A1 to C6)
Integrated science: share of candidates with a credit (A1 to C6)
Social studies: share of candidates with a credit (A1 to C6)
Four panels on the same scale. WAEC press releases for 2020 to 2024, press reports of WAEC statements for 2016 to 2019, Ghana News Agency on the WAEC release for 2025.
The figures
| English language: share of candidates with a credit (A1 to C6) | Core mathematics: share of candidates with a credit (A1 to C6) | Integrated science: share of candidates with a credit (A1 to C6) | Social studies: share of candidates with a credit (A1 to C6) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 53.2 | 32.8 | 48.5 | 54.9 |
| 2017 | 54.1 | 42.7 | 43.7 | 52.3 |
| 2018 | 46.8 | 38.3 | 50.5 | 73.3 |
| 2019 | 49 | 65.3 | 63.2 | 75.4 |
| 2020 | 57.3 | 65.7 | 52.5 | 64.3 |
| 2021 | 54.1 | 54.1 | 65.7 | 66 |
| 2022 | 60.4 | 61.4 | 62.5 | 71.5 |
| 2023 | 73.1 | 62.2 | 66.8 | 76.8 |
| 2024 | 69.5 | 66.9 | 58.8 | 71.5 |
| 2025 | 69 | 48.7 | 57.7 | 55.8 |
What the data show
- WASSCE entries rose from 274,262 in 2016 to 461,736 in 2025. That is 68 percent more, by our calculation from those two counts. Entries went up in 8 of the 9 yearly steps. The one fall was from 2021 to 2022, from 446,352 to 422,883.
- Girls were the majority of entrants in every year from 2020 to 2025. In 2025 there were 254,321 girls against 207,415 boys. Entry numbers say nothing about who did better, and the WAEC releases we hold do not split passes by sex.
- English credit passes were clearly higher from 2023 to 2025 than in 2021. In 2021 the share was 54.08 percent. In 2023 it was 73.11 percent, and in 2025 it was 69.00 percent.
- In 2025 the credit pass share in core maths fell from 66.86 percent to 48.73 percent. In social studies it fell from 71.53 percent to 55.82 percent. The data show that this happened. They do not say why.
- Core maths has no long upward path. Between 2016 and 2025 the yearly share moved between 32.83 and 66.86 percent with no steady direction. The figures for 2016 to 2019 and 2025 are press reports of WAEC statements. The 2025 credit passes are reported by Ghana News Agency, quoting WAEC.
What the data cannot say. We cannot say why entries rose, or why core maths and social studies fell in 2025. The data are counts and passes, and they do not show causes. We cannot say that maths results are on a long upward path. The yearly figures have no steady direction. We cannot say that any policy or decision caused a change in entries or passes. We cannot say whether girls or boys did better. The WAEC releases we hold do not split passes by sex. There is no single national pass rate in the releases we hold. They give the share of candidates with a credit in each core subject. The figures for 2016 to 2019 and 2025 are press reports of WAEC statements, so we label them as reported by the press. The 2025 credit passes are reported by Ghana News Agency, quoting WAEC, and the 2025 entries by Graphic Online, quoting WAEC. WAEC's own notice of the 2025 release carries no figures.
Questions people ask
- What is the WASSCE pass rate in Ghana?
- The WAEC releases we hold give the share of candidates with a credit (A1 to C6) in each core subject. They do not give one national pass rate. In 2025 the share was 69.00 percent in English and 48.73 percent in core maths. For integrated science it was 57.74 percent, and for social studies 55.82 percent. The 2025 figures are reported by Ghana News Agency, quoting WAEC.
- How many candidates wrote WASSCE in 2025?
- 461,736 school candidates were entered for WASSCE in 2025, according to Graphic Online reporting the WAEC release. That is the number entered. We do not hold a count of those who sat every paper.
- What percentage passed core maths in WASSCE 2025?
- The share of candidates with a credit in core maths was 48.73 percent in 2025, down from 66.86 percent in 2024. The 2025 figure is reported by Ghana News Agency, quoting WAEC.
- Is E8 a pass in WASSCE?
- Our figures count credit passes, which are grades A1 to C6. We hold no WAEC grading table, so we do not say here how E8 is treated. Check the grading on the WAEC website, or see our results page for how results are released.
- Do girls or boys perform better in WASSCE?
- The WAEC releases we hold do not split passes by sex, so we cannot say. We can say that girls were the majority of entrants in every year from 2020 to 2025. In 2025 there were 254,321 girls and 207,415 boys.