Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lesotho
Lesotho: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 36.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
36.2%
Change on year
up 2.4%
World rank
15th
of 178 countries
All-time high
45.1%
in 1971
All-time low
17.1%
in 2011
Years of data
44
1971–2024
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lesotho, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lesotho stood at 36.2%.
That represents a change of up 2.4% on the previous year and up 91.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lesotho peaked at 45.1% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 17.1%, in 2011.
That places Lesotho 15th out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 45.1% | — |
| 1973 | 43.3% | -3.9% |
| 1977 | 39.3% | -9.4% |
| 1978 | 37.6% | -4.2% |
| 1979 | 36.6% | -2.7% |
| 1980 | 36.1% | -1.3% |
| 1981 | 34.9% | -3.3% |
| 1982 | 32.2% | -7.8% |
| 1983 | 32.7% | +1.4% |
| 1984 | 33.6% | +3.0% |
| 1985 | 31.9% | -5.2% |
| 1986 | 33.1% | +3.9% |
| 1991 | 31.3% | -5.4% |
| 1992 | 32.2% | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 35.1% | +9.0% |
| 1994 | 34.4% | -1.9% |
| 1996 | 35.0% | +1.8% |
| 1998 | 39.2% | +11.7% |
| 1999 | 39.1% | -0.0% |
| 2000 | 29.7% | -24.2% |
| 2001 | 27.4% | -7.5% |
| 2002 | 25.7% | -6.5% |
| 2003 | 22.9% | -10.8% |
| 2004 | 21.8% | -4.7% |
| 2005 | 20.1% | -7.8% |
| 2006 | 18.2% | -9.6% |
| 2007 | 20.3% | +11.7% |
| 2008 | 19.3% | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 19.0% | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 17.4% | -8.7% |
| 2011 | 17.1% | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 17.4% | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 17.8% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 18.9% | +6.7% |
| 2015 | 19.8% | +4.7% |
| 2016 | 20.1% | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 19.0% | -5.5% |
| 2018 | 24.0% | +26.4% |
| 2019 | 26.8% | +11.7% |
| 2020 | 29.2% | +8.9% |
| 2021 | 33.3% | +14.2% |
| 2022 | 33.2% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 35.3% | +6.4% |
| 2024 | 36.2% | +2.4% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 36.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 14.8%, 2.4× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 36.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 23.5%, 1.5× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 40.4% | 36.6% | 45.1% | 5 |
| 1980s | 33.5% | 31.9% | 36.1% | 7 |
| 1990s | 35.2% | 31.3% | 39.2% | 7 |
| 2000s | 22.4% | 18.2% | 29.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.8% | 17.1% | 26.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.4% | 29.2% | 36.2% | 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lesotho?
- Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lesotho was 36.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 45.1% in 1971.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.1% in 2011.
- How does Lesotho rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- Lesotho ranks 15th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 91.0%. 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%). 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