Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho
Lesotho: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 30.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
30.9%
Change on year
up 4.3%
World rank
18th
of 169 countries
All-time high
35.5%
in 1999
All-time low
11.3%
in 2006
Years of data
44
1972–2024
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho, 1972–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho is 30.9%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 4.3% on the previous year and up 135.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho peaked at 35.5% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 11.3%, in 2006.
Lesotho ranks 18th of 169 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 27.8% | — |
| 1973 | 25.9% | -6.7% |
| 1977 | 20.1% | -22.3% |
| 1978 | 20.2% | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 19.5% | -3.8% |
| 1980 | 20.5% | +5.3% |
| 1981 | 21.1% | +2.7% |
| 1982 | 18.4% | -12.8% |
| 1983 | 18.7% | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 21.1% | +13.0% |
| 1985 | 19.4% | -8.4% |
| 1986 | 21.6% | +11.3% |
| 1991 | 20.7% | -4.0% |
| 1992 | 21.9% | +5.7% |
| 1993 | 25.7% | +17.6% |
| 1994 | 26.1% | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 28.2% | +8.0% |
| 1998 | 34.7% | +23.0% |
| 1999 | 35.5% | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 22.6% | -36.5% |
| 2001 | 20.4% | -9.4% |
| 2002 | 18.5% | -9.5% |
| 2003 | 15.5% | -16.1% |
| 2004 | 15.5% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 13.4% | -13.9% |
| 2006 | 11.3% | -15.9% |
| 2007 | 13.7% | +22.1% |
| 2008 | 12.6% | -8.0% |
| 2009 | 12.1% | -4.7% |
| 2010 | 11.7% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 11.9% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 12.3% | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 11.7% | -4.8% |
| 2014 | 13.1% | +12.1% |
| 2015 | 14.6% | +11.8% |
| 2016 | 15.3% | +4.8% |
| 2017 | 14.2% | -7.4% |
| 2018 | 18.8% | +32.4% |
| 2019 | 19.6% | +4.1% |
| 2020 | 23.1% | +18.3% |
| 2021 | 28.2% | +21.7% |
| 2022 | 28.3% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 29.6% | +4.5% |
| 2024 | 30.9% | +4.3% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 30.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.9%, 3.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 30.9% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 19.1%, 1.6× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 22.7% | 19.5% | 27.8% | 5 |
| 1980s | 20.1% | 18.4% | 21.6% | 7 |
| 1990s | 27.6% | 20.7% | 35.5% | 7 |
| 2000s | 15.6% | 11.3% | 22.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.3% | 11.7% | 19.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.0% | 23.1% | 30.9% | 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 and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho was 30.9% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 35.5% in 1999.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.3% in 2006.
- How does Lesotho rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- Lesotho ranks 18th out of 169 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 135.9%. 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 and adolescents of primary and lower 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