Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Lesotho
Lesotho: Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary was 69.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Lesotho, 2005–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Lesotho stood at 69.7%. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and up 16.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Lesotho peaked at 69.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 59.9%, in 2013.
That places Lesotho 14th out of 175 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 66.2% | — |
| 2013 | 59.9% | -9.4% |
| 2014 | 67.7% | +13.0% |
| 2015 | 62.7% | -7.4% |
| 2016 | 64.3% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 65.0% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 66.8% | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 68.5% | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 69.7% | +1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 66.2% | 66.2% | 66.2% | 1 |
| 2010s | 65.0% | 59.9% | 68.5% | 7 |
| 2020s | 69.7% | 69.7% | 69.7% | 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 rate for children one year before the official primary in Lesotho?
- Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Lesotho was 69.7% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 69.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 59.9% in 2013.
- How does Lesotho rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- Lesotho ranks 14th out of 175 countries with data for 2020.
- Is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.3%. 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 one year before the official primary entry age, male (%). 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