Education spending in Lesotho
Lesotho: Education spending was 6.62 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Education spending in Lesotho, 1971–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for education spending in Lesotho is 6.62, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 9.2% on the previous year and down 13.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, education spending in Lesotho peaked at 13.22 in 2003 and was at its lowest, 4.23, in 1974.
That places Lesotho 19th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Education spending in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 4.64 | — |
| 1972 | 4.53 | -2.5% |
| 1973 | 4.87 | +7.5% |
| 1974 | 4.23 | -13.0% |
| 1983 | 10.1 | +138.5% |
| 1984 | 6.43 | -36.3% |
| 1985 | 7.09 | +10.3% |
| 1988 | 7.22 | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 6.2 | -14.1% |
| 1993 | 8.58 | +38.3% |
| 1994 | 7.03 | -18.1% |
| 1995 | 8.64 | +23.0% |
| 1997 | 11.36 | +31.5% |
| 1999 | 12.5 | +10.0% |
| 2000 | 10.09 | -19.3% |
| 2001 | 9.37 | -7.2% |
| 2002 | 10.1 | +7.9% |
| 2003 | 13.22 | +30.9% |
| 2004 | 11.11 | -16.0% |
| 2005 | 12.08 | +8.7% |
| 2006 | 11.27 | -6.7% |
| 2008 | 12.33 | +9.4% |
| 2015 | 7.64 | -38.0% |
| 2016 | 7.55 | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 8.16 | +8.0% |
| 2018 | 7.28 | -10.7% |
| 2023 | 7.29 | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 6.62 | -9.2% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 6.62 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.02, 1.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 6.62 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.2, 2.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Education spending in Lesotho changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | +138.5% | 4.23 | 10.1 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.57 | 4.23 | 4.87 | 4 |
| 1980s | 7.41 | 6.2 | 10.1 | 5 |
| 1990s | 9.62 | 7.03 | 12.5 | 5 |
| 2000s | 11.2 | 9.37 | 13.22 | 8 |
| 2010s | 7.66 | 7.28 | 8.16 | 4 |
| 2020s | 6.96 | 6.62 | 7.29 | 2 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More education data for Lesotho
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 68.25 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 67.83 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 5,672 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 30,627 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 22,924 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 23,698 (2022)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 136,497 (2017)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 309,480 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.8093 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is education spending in Lesotho?
- Education spending in Lesotho was 6.62 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest education spending recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 13.22 in 2003.
- What is the lowest education spending recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.23 in 1974.
- How does Lesotho rank for education spending?
- Lesotho ranks 19th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is education spending rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Education spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).