Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Lesotho
Lesotho: Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP was 4.1% in 2018. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Lesotho, 1972–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2018, government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Lesotho stood at 4.1%.
The figure is down 8.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Lesotho peaked at 6.2% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 1974.
Lesotho ranks 4th of 162 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 2.2% | — |
| 1974 | 1.7% | -22.0% |
| 1983 | 4.2% | +139.9% |
| 1984 | 2.4% | -41.6% |
| 1985 | 2.6% | +7.5% |
| 1988 | 3.2% | +22.4% |
| 1989 | 2.8% | -12.4% |
| 1993 | 4.6% | +64.8% |
| 1994 | 3.5% | -24.5% |
| 1995 | 4.5% | +27.9% |
| 1997 | 4.2% | -5.9% |
| 1999 | 6.2% | +47.0% |
| 2000 | 4.9% | -20.9% |
| 2001 | 5.0% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 5.2% | +4.3% |
| 2006 | 4.5% | -13.0% |
| 2008 | 4.4% | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 4.1% | -8.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.0% | 1.7% | 2.2% | 2 |
| 1980s | 3.1% | 2.4% | 4.2% | 5 |
| 1990s | 4.6% | 3.5% | 6.2% | 5 |
| 2000s | 4.8% | 4.4% | 5.2% | 5 |
| 2010s | 4.1% | 4.1% | 4.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More education data for Lesotho
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1324 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Lesotho?
- Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Lesotho was 4.1% in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 6.2% in 1999.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 1974.
- How does Lesotho rank for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Lesotho ranks 4th out of 162 countries with data for 2018.
- Is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.2%. 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, published as part of Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release