Goh's father was from Yongchun County, Fujian province, China, while he was born in Singapore and his family belongs to the Hokkien dialect group, now more commonly known as Minnan.[2][3] Goh studied at Raffles Institution from 1955 to 1960. He was a very competitive swimmer in his younger days and was given the nickname "Bold".
Goh earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with first class honours in economics from the University of Singapore, and a Master of Arts in development economics from Williams College in 1967. After his studies, Goh returned to Singapore to serve in the Administrative Service.[4]