Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Lesotho
Lesotho: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 38.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
38.4%
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
29th
of 175 countries
All-time high
44.7%
in 1977
All-time low
16.3%
in 2011
Years of data
44
1972–2024
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Lesotho, 1972–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Lesotho stood at 38.4%.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and up 96.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Lesotho peaked at 44.7% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 16.3%, in 2011.
That places Lesotho 29th out of 175 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 43.0% | — |
| 1973 | 36.4% | -15.4% |
| 1977 | 44.7% | +22.8% |
| 1978 | 26.5% | -40.7% |
| 1979 | 26.4% | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 24.4% | -7.7% |
| 1981 | 21.5% | -11.7% |
| 1982 | 21.4% | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 20.4% | -4.7% |
| 1984 | 24.0% | +17.8% |
| 1985 | 21.5% | -10.5% |
| 1986 | 22.8% | +5.9% |
| 1991 | 20.4% | -10.5% |
| 1992 | 23.9% | +17.3% |
| 1993 | 28.4% | +18.7% |
| 1994 | 27.3% | -3.7% |
| 1996 | 26.9% | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 27.0% | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 23.5% | -13.1% |
| 2000 | 32.7% | +39.1% |
| 2001 | 31.5% | -3.5% |
| 2002 | 30.8% | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 27.1% | -12.0% |
| 2004 | 24.4% | -9.8% |
| 2005 | 22.2% | -9.0% |
| 2006 | 21.0% | -5.5% |
| 2007 | 23.2% | +10.7% |
| 2008 | 21.8% | -6.1% |
| 2009 | 19.4% | -11.2% |
| 2010 | 16.5% | -15.0% |
| 2011 | 16.3% | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 17.2% | +5.8% |
| 2013 | 18.8% | +9.2% |
| 2014 | 19.5% | +3.7% |
| 2015 | 20.9% | +6.9% |
| 2016 | 22.1% | +6.0% |
| 2017 | 21.5% | -2.9% |
| 2018 | 26.4% | +22.8% |
| 2019 | 29.1% | +10.2% |
| 2020 | 32.6% | +12.1% |
| 2021 | 33.7% | +3.4% |
| 2022 | 34.9% | +3.5% |
| 2023 | 38.6% | +10.7% |
| 2024 | 38.4% | -0.6% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 38.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 26.6%, 1.4× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 38.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 38.3%, 1.0× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 35.4% | 26.4% | 44.7% | 5 |
| 1980s | 22.3% | 20.4% | 24.4% | 7 |
| 1990s | 25.3% | 20.4% | 28.4% | 7 |
| 2000s | 25.4% | 19.4% | 32.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.8% | 16.3% | 29.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.7% | 32.6% | 38.6% | 5 |
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 rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Lesotho?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Lesotho was 38.4% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 44.7% in 1977.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.3% in 2011.
- How does Lesotho rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
- Lesotho ranks 29th out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 96.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 44 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release