Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Lesotho
Lesotho: Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education was 7 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Lesotho, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 7 for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Lesotho peaked at 7 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1998.
That places Lesotho 173rd out of 214 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 0 | — |
| 1999 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | 0 | — |
| 2005 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 7 | — |
| 2011 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 7 | +0.0% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 7 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9, 78% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 7 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 8, 88% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2000s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2010s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 2020s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
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 number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Lesotho?
- Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Lesotho was 7 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 2010.
- What is the lowest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1998.
- How does Lesotho rank for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education?
- Lesotho ranks 173rd out of 214 countries with data for 2025.
- Is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education guaranteed in legal frameworks. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release