Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of children who are not in pre-primary school was 69.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Lesotho, 2005–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Lesotho is 69.5%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.7% on the previous year and up 15.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Lesotho peaked at 69.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 60.4%, in 2013.
Lesotho ranks 15th of 179 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 65.0% | 65.0% | 65.0% | 1 |
| 2010s | 64.3% | 60.4% | 67.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 69.5% | 69.5% | 69.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More education data for Lesotho
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 62.0% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 34.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 80.2% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 10,388 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 2.66 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 78.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Lesotho?
- Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Lesotho was 69.5% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 69.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 60.4% in 2013.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of children who are not in pre-primary school?
- Lesotho ranks 15th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of children who are not in pre-primary school rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are not in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Children one year before the official primary entry age (typically age 5) not enrolled in pre-primary education, expressed as a percentage of all children in that age group.