Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Lesotho
Lesotho: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both was 57.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Lesotho, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Lesotho stood at 57.7%. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.2% on the previous year and up 44.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Lesotho peaked at 57.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 34.8%, in 2011.
That places Lesotho 27th out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 49.4% | — |
| 2001 | 48.7% | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 47.6% | -2.3% |
| 2003 | 46.0% | -3.4% |
| 2004 | 43.8% | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 41.8% | -4.6% |
| 2006 | 40.1% | -4.1% |
| 2007 | 38.2% | -4.7% |
| 2008 | 36.9% | -3.4% |
| 2009 | 36.3% | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 35.5% | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 34.8% | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 34.8% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 35.8% | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 37.8% | +5.6% |
| 2015 | 40.0% | +5.8% |
| 2016 | 41.3% | +3.2% |
| 2017 | 42.6% | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 45.1% | +5.9% |
| 2019 | 47.7% | +5.8% |
| 2020 | 49.4% | +3.6% |
| 2021 | 49.6% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 50.7% | +2.2% |
| 2023 | 53.0% | +4.5% |
| 2024 | 55.4% | +4.5% |
| 2025 | 57.7% | +4.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 42.9% | 36.3% | 49.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.5% | 34.8% | 47.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 52.6% | 49.4% | 57.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 24 Honduras 58.9% compare
- 25 San Marino 58.5% compare
- 26 South Sudan 57.8% compare
- 28 Suriname 57.2% compare
- 29 Mozambique 56.7% compare
- 30 Togo 56.4% compare
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 youth of upper secondary school age, both in Lesotho?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Lesotho was 57.7% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 57.7% in 2025.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.8% in 2011.
- How does Lesotho rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both?
- Lesotho ranks 27th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 44.2%. 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 youth of upper secondary 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