Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Lesotho
Lesotho: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 30.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Lesotho, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Lesotho is 30.4%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 5.2% on the previous year and up 120.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Lesotho peaked at 30.4% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 12.4%, in 2006.
That places Lesotho 17th out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 16.2% | — |
| 2001 | 15.1% | -6.8% |
| 2002 | 14.1% | -6.6% |
| 2003 | 13.4% | -5.0% |
| 2004 | 13.0% | -3.0% |
| 2005 | 12.7% | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 12.4% | -2.4% |
| 2007 | 12.4% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 12.5% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 12.8% | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 13.0% | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 12.9% | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 12.9% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 13.1% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 13.4% | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 13.8% | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 14.2% | +2.9% |
| 2017 | 14.8% | +4.2% |
| 2018 | 16.0% | +8.1% |
| 2019 | 17.8% | +11.3% |
| 2020 | 20.0% | +12.4% |
| 2021 | 22.3% | +11.5% |
| 2022 | 24.6% | +10.3% |
| 2023 | 27.0% | +9.8% |
| 2024 | 28.9% | +7.0% |
| 2025 | 30.4% | +5.2% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 30.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.6%, 3.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 30.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16.5%, 1.8× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 13.5% | 12.4% | 16.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.2% | 12.9% | 17.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.5% | 20.0% | 30.4% | 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 out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Lesotho?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Lesotho was 30.4% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 30.4% in 2025.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.4% in 2006.
- How does Lesotho rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Lesotho ranks 17th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 120.3%. 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 rate for children of primary school age, both sexes (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release