Out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in Lesotho
Lesotho: Out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry was 19,511 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in Lesotho, 2005–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 19,511 for out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in 2020. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 32.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in Lesotho peaked at 19,511 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 14,746, in 2013.
Lesotho ranks 57th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 15,580 | — |
| 2013 | 14,746 | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 17,623 | +19.5% |
| 2015 | 16,354 | -7.2% |
| 2016 | 16,879 | +3.2% |
| 2017 | 17,919 | +6.2% |
| 2018 | 18,521 | +3.4% |
| 2019 | 19,239 | +3.9% |
| 2020 | 19,511 | +1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 15,580 | 15,580 | 15,580 | 1 |
| 2010s | 17,326 | 14,746 | 19,239 | 7 |
| 2020s | 19,511 | 19,511 | 19,511 | 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 out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in Lesotho?
- Out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in Lesotho was 19,511 in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 19,511 in 2020.
- What is the lowest out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 14,746 in 2013.
- How does Lesotho rank for out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry?
- Lesotho ranks 57th out of 176 countries with data for 2020.
- Is out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.3%. 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 Out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry age, male (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release